Rocking the Boat
by Kimera225
Summary: With a new student arriving at Ever After High, things will get even more interesting as for better or for worse, Jaqueline Darling-Hook, the daughter of Captain Hook and Wendy definitely starts to rock the boat for students and teachers alike.
1. Chapter 1 Also known as how it all began

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 1 – Also known as how it all began**

Change is inevitable, no matter how much some want to deny it.

It started with a simple line, found on an old school rule book by a girl who only wanted to be alongside her twin sister: "Ever After High welcomes all the children of fairy tale legends to learn the fine art of fulfilling their destiny".

All of them.

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hello there! This is my first fic in ages and my first EAH fic.**

**I know it is a short chapter, and that it doesn't really tell much, but it's more like an introduction.**

**Hope you will like the story.**

**I own nothing but those characters from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**


	2. Chapter 2 Meet Jackie

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 2 - ****Meet Jackie**

As the sun rose, a new day at Ever After High began.

Raven was just finishing getting fairest for the new day, looking forward to having muse-ic early in the morning and a tea party with Maddie in the afternoon, as a way of cheering her up a bit, since many students were back at giving her a hard time after Apple's birthday bake off.

"Oh Raven, you should have just given me a poisoned apple. The cake was a bit of over the top. Don't you think?"

And of course, Apple couldn't go without bringing it up, as she had done for the past 2 weeks in one way or another.

"It wasn't me" she told the blonde, for the untempt time "Briar put a creature concoction on my cake and you know it" Apple was still in denial over the fact that it was Briar who slipped the potion instead of her and it was also the sole source and reason of why Raven was facing another tough time with the other students, most of whom were angry at 'her not attempt' to poison the next Snow White.

Who could understand them?

Raven was damned if she poisoned the blonde girl and damned if she didn't.

"Well, she wouldn't have to if you were just following the script" snapped and angry Apple White, glaring over her shoulder, only to turn back to face her golden mirror and planted her trade mark smile once more, as if her previous yelling hadn't occurred.

Raven pondered for a moment on her roomie's rude behavior - so unlike her usual self - that was there one moment and in the next was gone. It was starting to make Raven worry fair bit, no one seemed to pay attention to Apple's 'episodes' as she mentally called them; probably due to Apple being destined to be the fairest of them all, and the nagging hunch of caution wouldn't leave.

As she was pondering over this, Raven had already finished getting ready and as she left the room, couldn't hold back her usual reply to this sort of situations with Apple "Don't you remember Legacy Day?" And before she got another biting reply, she was out of her dorm and on route to the halls of Ever After High, as far away as she could get from Apple White.

And so, while the students attended their morning classes, some one new was arriving at the gates of the school. A new student was starting at Ever After High that would spark a new twist on the tale.

**~o°°o~**

Poppy O'Hair couldn't be more hexcited! An old friend of hers was going to start writing a new story, just like her! And it was since such a long time since they saw each other. Just as she was on route to her last class of the day while checking MyChapter for notifications of her friend, when she watched a blur of red and brown coming down the hall towards her. A familiar blur at that, that was a 16-year-old girl, with a complexion that hinted of someone who made hard work under the sun, with light olive skin, eyes of a deep shade of blue (which the owner liked to think resembled the deep ocean) and long hair in a braid of such light brown hair that could be confused as blonde, with a few red highlights at the front. Currently, wearing blue long shorts with an old brown long leather jacket on top of white top and long brown boots on her feet.

"Jackie!" There in front of her, the joyful girl was with her arms wide open and they hugged each other. "It's been forever after!" she holed the other girl at arm's length to give her a look over "Love what you did with your hair, by the way"

Jackie just threw her head back at that remark, laughing "Thanks! I knew that would be the first thing you would tell. Oh, I've missed you Poppy!" and once more, they hugged each other. "We have so much to talk about"

"Miss… Jaqueline" Baba Yaga just then came floating down the hall. The girls separated themselves once more and turned to the faculty teacher. "You forgot this at my office; please remember that you have until Sunday to return them to me with your choice classes"

"Thanks Madam Yaga" as she took the offered papers, she looked at the teacher face with a tiny little bit on suspicion dancing on her dark blue eyes "Is it usual for the teachers to call the students by their given names? In my past school that wasn't the case"

"Ah, no." answered Poppy, looking with confusion at the teacher, who seemed to be wishing to be anywhere but here after that question.

"Not usually, but it appears that you will have to be an exception. Headmaster's orders." was the witch's nonsense reply.

"Why? There's nothing wrong with my last name" challenged the girl.

"It's precisely due to your last name. It would rise to many questions" Again; the witch was looking uncomfortable.

"Why?" Poppy was now utterly confused. Also, late for her class, but this was so much more interesting.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." Jackie answered "My full name is Jaqueline Darling-Hook and I'm not going to go looking for trouble with other students, just because some might have problems with whom I am"

"Darling-Hook?" that certainly ringed a bell for Poppy, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. She had always just known her as Jackie Hook, so why…

"I never told you?" she asked with genuine surprise, at Poppy's confused face "My mom is Wendy, the heroine from Peter Pan and my dad is Captain Hook"

Poppy could one gawk at her longtime friend in astonishment, mouth wide open.

Baba Yaga could only do a face palm. So much for keeping things quiet…

**~o°°o~**

Poppy, not wanting to be left with more questions, dragged Jackie towards the Village of Book End.

"I mean, I just assumed that you were just like me. You know? Second child, no destiny waiting for you, I mean, with your brother Jason and all that." she nearly missed the grimace on the others face, but not one for short cuts, continued head on "But wouldn't that make you the next Wendy?"

"We better get something to drink… this might take a while" Jackie then dragged Poppy towards the nearest establishment; which happened to be the Mad Hatter's Tea Shop, ordered the most relaxing tea they could give them and finally, sitting across from each other, began her tale.

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hello again!**

**Jackie is one of the many OC's I have made that will make appearances during the fic, though I'm not planning on centering the story around any of them.**

**Hope you will like this chapter and where I'm steering the EAH characters.**

**Please review, since I could use the feedback. Also, I'm open for suggestions on the chapter titles, since I honestly had no idea what to name them.**

**I own nothing but those characters from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**


	3. Chapter 3 Trouble in the Horizon

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 3 – Trouble in the Horizon**

As the day neared towards its end, Jackie was at her dorm room unpacking her things. After having parted ways with Poppy earlier that afternoon, she went back to the school with the intention of getting settled. Eventually. She also wanted to explore a little bit.

Of course, easier said than done, since the campus is simply humongous and without a clear idea of where she wanted to go...

During her quest/tour of the school, she had ended in the dungeons – she was reconsidering some of her possible classes, now that she saw where she would have to take them - then she found herself on the auditorium - she refused to use the weird name of 'Charmitorium' – and afterwards she did find her way to the dormitories.

The male dormitories, that is.

But Jackie didn't know that since there weren't any sort of marking or signal. When she found the dorm number and opened the door, a definitely masculine figure in front of her gave her all the clues she needed. That was a bit awkward, but anyhow… she made it to the female dormitories after that, just as she was really getting tired of her explorations.

Thus, she started to unpack her things on the unoccupied side of the bedroom, until all the activity of the afternoon catches up with her and she fell asleep on her bed without taking of her clothes. And that's how, when Marissa Aster returned to her bedroom, she also found out she was having a new roommate.

**~o°°o~**

Meanwhile Jackie was 'touring' the castle, Poppy was still on a daze while working, her body going with the motions, while her mind was somewhere else.

'No way.'

'No way.'

'No way!'

It was all that Poppy could think off, as she began her shift at the Tower Saloon

'So many things make sense now...'

Holly was also there, and noticed her sister's behavior. Of course, having recently been though the hole 'Guess what? Turns out you aren't supposed to be the next Rapunzel' episode, it was only natural she was so much more sensitive to her twin's emotional state.

'I just hope no-one has found out our secret' Holly was thinking as she saw her twin's unusual behavior, worrying about her destiny, until she remembered 'Oh, wasn't her friend Jackie going to transfer to Ever After High soon? Perhaps that's just it! Something happened with that awful pirate…' and so, the Royal girl approached her Rebel twin.

"Hey sis" Poppy was taken from her thoughts at her sister's voice.

"Oh, hey big sis" Poppy winked at Holly, something she had begun to do ever since she discovered that she was actually the older twin. Holly found it annoyingly irritating.

"What's with the long face? My twin vibe is totally telling me that there's something going on" she gave her sister an awkward smile that gust begged for everything to be alright. Well, almost everything, she was crossing her fingers in a silent prayer that Poppy wasn't friends anymore with that girl.

"It is" Poppy signed, she did feel like she needed to talk with someone else about it, but looking at Holly's face… "But not what you are probably thinking" she hastily added as she saw the terror on her sister face 'Of course she would think it has to do with her destiny…' it rubbed her on a bad way how obsessed and clingy was Holly as of lately with having the Rapunzel legacy secure. Wasn't it enough that she had given it over? It's not like she would wake one day and take it away from her. Geez…

"Oh" was the relieved response she got, a hand against her chest on a perfect princess gesture that Poppy couldn't care less, only to give way to a confused face.

"Want to talk about it?"

"More than anything" answered the purple haired girl as she led her sister to a chair "Jackie arrived today" she told Holly with barely contained glee, oblivious to her twin's scowl "But… I learned something that honestly shocked me." She picked up the brush and began passing it through Holly's long locks of hair "But it's not my tale to tell, you know?"

Holly just nodded, as Poppy continued to brush her hair. She wasn't totally surprised that something happened, something bad by the looks of it.

Holly had never liked nor approved of her sister having a friendship with the pirate girl.

'Perhaps, what-ever-after had happened, would make her come to her senses?' she though with hope.

**~o°°o~**

Marissa Aster wasn't sure how to proceed and was simply watching the brunette girl with surprise when this one, seemed to start to wake up.

"Hello there"

Jackie, still half asleep, jumped out of the bed, only for her legs to get stuck on the bed sheet and fall to the floor.

"Oh my goodness, it wasn't my intention to startle you!"

Fully awake now, she gave the other girl a long look, taking in her obvious and sincere apology. She smiled and stood up

"No problem" She was now looking at her roommate, taking in her regal appearance, from the pale pink skin, the button nose and big grey eyes on her face, framed by her brownish red hair. She was definitely a princess, in case the tiara on her head wasn't a giveaway, or her expensive looking clothes in gold, pale yellows and ochre. She also seemed to have a theme with plants, given how many chrysanthemums adorned her outfit.

"Please, allow me to introduce myself." Marissa curtsied, as she had been instructed her whole life "I am Princess Marissa Aster, future princess of the Six Wild Swans story. Enchanted to meet you"

"Ermm…" no one had ever curtsied in front of her, much less for her "Hi there" some awkward clearing of the throat later, and under the never breaking stare of Marissa she dived right in "I'm Jaqueline, but please just call me Jackie. It's nice to meet you"

There. Now why was her roomie looking at her that way? It was like she was… don't know, expecting something more out her introduction.

"Oh" yeah, that was definitely some disappointment in Marissa's voice "And… what's your story, then?"

"My story?" Jackie could only blink in more confusion. Never before had someone asked that.

"Well, yes. It's only proper to introduce oneself and share which story do you belong to" the princess took pity on her, perhaps she had no idea that she had a story before coming to Ever After High. Oh, how she envied her.

"I had no idea… It's the norm to introduce yourself with your name and your parent's story?" She could totally use this!

"Well, yes." Marissa send her the sweetest smile Jackie could ever remember a stranger had given to her, outside of her parents. "Of course, some people don't even have to, like apple …" she trailed off.

"Pfff… " Jackie was really trying not to laugh, and failing miserably "An apple? Why would an apple need to introduce itself" Yeah, the people at this school were short a few pages if even an apple had to make introductions!

"Goodness no!" Ok, she could see the joke and laughed a bit with her roomie "Apple White is to be the next Snow White"

"For real?" That had certainly cut her laughter "Her mother seriously named her child after the very object that almost kills her?"

"Ammmm, yes….?" She had never thought about it that way, while a shiver ran down her spine. That would be like her mother naming her… ugh. The less she considered the possibilities, the better for her.

"That's so… weird" A moment of silence passed by, each girl reflecting on the not so charming names they could have ended up with "Oh, but then allow me to introduce myself again Marissa. "

Broken out of her thoughts, the princess only nodded for Jackie to continue.

"I'm Jaqueline Darling-Hook and my parent's story is Peter Pan" she gave her the biggest smile she could muster.

"Darling-Hook?" Apparently, she was going to get that a lot, better get used to it.

"Yeah, I use both the last names of my mom and dad" Any moment now…

"That's… odd. And whose path are you going to follow?"

"Neither. My older half-brother and sister got those"

"Half…." The other shoe just dropped then. She knew of an older girl whose last name was Darling. And who didn't know of the future pirate on Never Land, Jason Hook?

But that meant…

"Yeah…"

"…"

"Are you okay?"

**~o°°o~**

And so, the weekend passed by, and Jackie had given in her choice classes.

Monday found Poppy looking forward to having classes with Jackie, but also dreading to, since she still hadn't forgotten the whole episode with Baba Yaga, and was on her way to meet her, since she had already agreed to show her the way to the Crownculus classroom. Lucky for them both, they shared it on the same period.

'There she is' Poppy couldn't contain the smile as she looked at Jackie standing in the main hall being given so much more space than needed. No wonder, given her choice attire was not what you usually saw at the halls of Ever After High. But she had always been like that and she wouldn't have her friend being any other way.

Poppy approached the brunette "Ready for your first day at Ever After High?"

"You bet" was the challenging response. As both girls started to walk towards the classroom, the whispers began.

"_Oh my fairy Godmother!"_

"_What is she wearing?"_

"What's with all the whispers?" Jackie murmured to Poppy. Honestly, it was her first day and all the stares and whispers were getting to her nerves.

"Your clothes" was the only answer she got from her longtime friend.

"What about them?" She looked down at herself.

Black t-shirt from her favorite band, check.

Blue worn out jeans, check.

Red hoodie, check.

Black boots, check.

"Your jeans, to be precise. No girl at this school uses anything less than skirts or dresses"

"For real?" Now that was a scandal! Thanks for small mercies, there wasn't any rule that could force her to use… skirts.

She checked.

Double checked and triple checked the school rules.

She fought down the urge to shiver at the mere idea.

"For real" and Poppy just then smirked at her, almost as she had read her mind. Jacki simply laugh it off.

"Wow, I think one of them actually fainted" Jackie smirked right back and they continued to exchange friendly banter until they made it into the classroom.

**~o°°o~**

"It seems we have a new student joining us today, class. Please, make Miss Jacqueline feel welcome" Maid Marian; the Crownculus teacher, told the class as it was just starting.

"Oh, how enchanting!" squealed Apple White "She should totally introduce herself" many students agreed to their beloved Apple's suggestions, while eyeing the new girl, who was sitting in the middle of the classroom next to Poppy.

"No!" was the cutting yell of Maid Marian, surprising all of her students. After all, she was known for NEVER-EVER raising her voice "No, no, we have much to do" she continued in a more subdued manner.

"Oh, but I would love to, Maid Marian" said Jackie with an odd glint on her blue eyes as she stood. And before more could be said, she jumped to the front of the classroom; literally walking on top of the desks and shocking all of them.

Somewhere in the back, Blondie Lockes pulled out her MirrorPad and began filming.

"I'm Jackeline Darling-Hook, bastard daughter of Captain James Hook and Wendy Darling, both of them from the story of Peter Pan. Enchanted to meet you all" She gave a little bow to the entire class.

The collective gasp was all she received as she straightened up and looked at them all. Behind her, she could her Maid Marian fanning herself, before just dropping unconscious on her chair.

By the end of the day, she would be the talk of the school, and not only for her just not right outfit.

**~o°°o~**

All teachers tried to do anything to stop her from making an introduction and yet, she still managed to make it, even if she had to wait until the end of the class to do so; just when they had lowered their guards or were distracted by something else.

The student body was bursting full with curiosity, since it the tale of Crownculus spread like wild fire and Jackie was just oh so happy to oblige. Even if it meant that others would look at her more or give her a wide berth, she was never going to deny who she was and where she came from, for she was proud of them both.

Finally, it was lunch time and after acquiring a map of the school directly onto her MirrorPad, thanks to a nice fellow named Humphrey, who she meted during Geografairy.

Maps where everything for a pirate, her dad often said. So she followed what she had been taught.

She could see Poppy and Holly and waved at them both. Of course, Poppy waved back but her twin just scowled at her. Nothing she hadn't expected of course.

While she was at the line to get some food, she saw both of her siblings mingling with their own friends in distant corner of the Casteleria. They were a year above her and had already taken their pledges to be next Wendy and Captain Hook respectively.

A bitter smile appeared on her lips and simply decided to focus on finding an available table to eat.

Just as she was scanning the crowds of students, her eyes focused straight into a dark haired girl of what she assumed was her age, holding her own food tray and approaching a nearby table with group of girls- she could recognize her roomie among them – who just fled the sight of said girl.

Wow, that's rude! And to think that Marissa had seemed like such a sweet girl just last night. How could she just be so… mean? More so to someone who was obviously making an effort to be nice?

'Guess I know where I'm going to seat now' Jackie thought with determination and made her way to the down looking girl.

'I mean, she definitely looks the part of being a princess, with her regal looks, lovely smile and purple dress. So what's with the running?'

She put on her best smile "Is this seat taken?"

The dark haired girl finally looked up from her food, her eyes – violet eyes, she noted – open wide in astonishment.

'Poor thing' was her first thought, and her heart went out to the other girl 'She mustn't be used to others being nice to her' and then and there, she decided she would do all in her power to, not only befriend her, but protect her.

She hated with a passion the cruel and mean, and that was exactly what it seemed to her, that her new friend had only encountered in her life.

Silence was her only answer. Not only from the girl in front of her, who was still surprised, but from the entire Casteleria.

The weight of the silence made her rise her sight, and she looked around her, her sight swept over the other students, the distaste clear on her eyes.

She looked back at the girl, and even if her ire bubbled like a cauldron in the flame, she steeled herself to look friendly. At the hesitant nod she received, she simply sat across the other girl.

"I'm Jackie" she extended her hand to the other girl, whom with a smile took it and shook it.

"I'm Raven… Raven Queen" Raven herself, expected some sort of reaction, but was surprised when she got none.

"I like your name; it's a really cool, pretty name." Jackie saw how Raven expected to flee, the only thing she could thing of doing, was to compliment her name, as honestly and awkward as she could (which was the only way she knew).

"No one ever told me that" it was a faint whisper, but she heard it all the same. Her heart went out once more to Raven, and her ire at the rest of this blasted school.

Just then, footsteps echoed through the still silent hall, and Raven's face seemed to drop at the sight of whoever was approaching behind Jackie.

She heard a quiet "Ejem" behind her, but decided to ignore it and instead, kept up her talk with Raven "Hey, you know what this is? I totally picked whatever appeared good, but I have no fairy idea what this is"

A collective gasp resounded and if it was even possible, Raven looked even more surprised.

"That's just not right!" a shrill behind her, made Jackie cover ears.

"Ow, my ears! What's with the banshee?!" Jackie finally turned to face the banshee –with that high pitched shrill, it simply had to be one! – and there were three girls, two of which simply had the most impossible to be natural blonde hair. Ever.

"I'm not a banshee!" Huh, so the banshee was the impossibly natural blonde in the blue dress.

"Well, you certainly sound like one" Jackie answered, rubbing her abused ears and tough the periphery of her eyes, she saw many other students doing the same.

"Blondie, calm down" The brunette in pink - ugh, pink! - put a hand on the banshee's shoulder.

"Ejem…" the other impossible blond interrupted both her line of thoughts and the other two girls, whom immediately stood at attention. Oh! So she was the leader of them. In her mind, she dubbed this one like Fake Blond. "Perhaps you would like to sit somewhere else Jackie" she finally told her with the most plastic, fake smile Jackie had ever encountered and in the most irritating condescending voice she had ever had the displeasure of hearing.

Raven's defeated sigh tough, was all Jackie needed and the frown that she had been fighting before came in with full force.

"I sit where I want to sit" Her voice was the calm before all hell broke loose: Neutral and cutting deep the fake girl that stood before her. She perceived sound all around her, but her focus was elsewhere. This, were obviously bullies, and in her books, deserved her contempt.

**~o°°o~**

Raven Queen was absolutely certain that she was still dreaming. Even after she had pinched herself three times already, the scene in front of her continued to unfold.

Apple, along with Briar and Blondie had approached her table, where she was sitting with the new girl Jackie, who paid no mind to who she was and actually said that she, Raven Queen, had a pretty name.

And the surprises didn't end there. She had seen Apple, Briar and Blondie approach their table, that's when she knew this wasn't going to last. But then, this same girl ignored Apple White in favor of her!

Her!

She had even called Blondie a banshee and now, when Apple wad suggested her to sit somewhere else, she refused!

"Oh, but I don't think you know just who are you sitting with" of course, Apple would persist and seeing Jackie stand up to her full height - she was taller than Apple, perhaps the same height as Cerise – all Raven could think of was 'Perhaps, this is where the dream had to end'.

"You won't intimidate me to sit somewhere else" Apple looked aghast at someone not doing as she had suggested, Briar and Blondie looked even more shocked

"You are just bullies" Jackie threw at their faces, before any of them could say anything more. "And bullies deserve to be put in their place. I know their type, don't worry Raven, I will deal with them" Raven's mouth was wide open at the sudden knight in shining armor before her.

"Hey! We are here just trying to save you from mingling with the wrong type of people at this school" Briar had her hands on her hips, not pleased with the succession of events.

"And, by that definition, you are the wright type? I don't think so. You lot just keep proving me right that you are nothing but bullies" was the cutting reply she earned herself.

"That's so not right!" even Raven had to cover her ears. Jackie seemed to have a point by comparing Blondie to a banshee…

"Oh yeah? And then, what do you call your little act? Because I call it as I see it: bullying!" Jackie crossed her arms, defiant.

"Oh no!" Apple stepped right in "It seems we have begun with the wrong slipper" and here she gave a tight smile, that Raven somehow found disturbing. "I am Apple White, daughter of Snow White".

Apple looked expectantly 'Probably expects her to bow to her wish and command, probably apologize for contradicting her or something like that' ruefully thought Raven. Yet… all Jackie did was lift an eyebrow.

The princess gasp said it all, and repeated herself, a bit louder this time "I am Apple White, daughter of Snow White, fairest them of all" pasted smile on her face, she waited for the expected reaction.

Meanwhile, Jackie turned around and seemed to silently ask Raven something, but since she couldn't decipher exactly what, so she only shrugged.

Apple looked positively livid at being ignored and was just about to grab Jackie by the shoulder, when she whipped around to face her once more. "More like the most fake and rude of them all" she said as she slapped Apple's hand away from her face.

"Hey!" Briar, of course, jumped at this "We are only trying to look out for you; Raven is the next evil queen" said girl felt her expression fell, why couldn't she get out from under her mother's dark shadow?

"So what? Raven is one of the nicest people I have encountered since arriving at Ever After High" Raven felt elated at the praise of this stranger, it also gave her hope that someone who had just meet her wouldn't think her evil. "In case you are blind, she isn't her mother! In fact, no one here are their parents, they are their own individuals".

And with that said, she sat back down "Even so, I think we will get along just fine, you know, since my dad is also 'villain'" and as she said villain with heavy sarcasm, Jackie winked at Raven, who giggled a little.

The royals were however gawking at Jackie in disbelief.

Slowly, the sound returned to the Castleleria as Raven saw by the corner of her eye the three girls leaving, and both she and Jackie began talking amongst each other while eating.

"Thanks, by the way" she finally said once they were getting up from the table.

"What-ever for?" Jackie answered her

"Well, take your pick" she replied with a laugh "You know… not fleeing at knowing who I am and well, what happened with Apple…"

"Don't mention it, that's what friends are for" Jackie shrugged her apology with an easy smile on her face "And I would like us to be friends" Raven could just nod at that "Besides, it's not like they are the first bullies I meet and I doubt they will be the last ones. You should have seen my old school…"

They finally left the Casteleria and went to the school grounds in pleasant silence. That is, until Raven couldn't contain her own curiosity.

"And hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but are your parents really…?

"The Wendy and Captain Hook? Yeah, they are. Want to see a photo?" Before Raven could answer, Jackie took out her MirrorPhone and passed it by to her, a photo on the display showing her new friend; tough a few years younger, with a woman in a lovely light blue dress with the same facial structure and similar hair color being in a one armed hug by a handsome man with dark chocolate hair and intense blue eyes in full pirate garb – and an elegant one, at that – that had a hook where it should have been his left hand.

At that moment, Poppy came running out of the school doors to catch up with them

"Hey there!" she managed to say, before bending over to catch her breath.

"Poppy, what ever happened to you?"

"Ahoy Poppy! You ok there mate?"

"Urgh… just… one… sec…"

Both girls, waited patiently for the other one to catch her breath. After a few seconds more, she stood up. "You won't believe what happened" she took more air "It just, it blew up!"

"What blew up?" Jackie was obviously confused. "And why would anything" she mimicked air quotes "blew up?"

"Don't tell me…" Raven tiredly signed with apprehension.

"Yeah, some Royal…" 'My sister, to be precise' thought Poppy "said something just awful about you guys for what happened with Apple, Blondie and Briar. And Cerise stud up against that, especially for you Raven" she said while looking at the Rebel leader.

"Oh no…" she could almost picture it; just like the food fight after legacy day. It warmed her heart that Cerise defended her, but made her worry about what had transpired.

"Yeah, but then Cedar said how Jackie was right, you know? But she didn't stop there, she went point by point saying how the Royals had acted like bullies and it all went mad from there. "

"How bad is it?" asked a very worried Raven.

"Nothing but words, but I had to warn you both since I saw Blondie sneaking out, MirrorPad in hand to do a mirror cast about both of you, a really nasty one, if I were to guess. Especially about you Jackie. She wouldn't stop blabbing about you and how it must have been all made up by the Rebels…"

"Uh, what are you both talking about?" And that's when both Raven and Poppy realized that the brunette had no clue about the Royal VS Rebel conflict at the school, so they told Jackie everything about it.

**~o°°o~**

Blondie Lockes live stream mirror cast show turned out to be even worse than anything anyone could have predicted.

It went on how Raven was colluded with the new student so she would lie about her parents – " It's obviously just another pathetic attempt as to further support the rebel cause" were the exact words she had used on the show- but then it went on how, when Apple White went to the rescue, she was viciously attacked without cause. Complete with appearances and statements from both Apple and Briar.

Also, it appeared that they couldn't go a second without some sort of critic at Jackie's clothes; but that wasn't important.

Before the show could finish, said Jaqueline Darling-Hook was on route to meet the banshee and gut her out like a fish.

**~o°°o~**

Blondie was just finishing up her mirror cast transmission, with the help of Apple and Briar, when a loud noise interrupted her. She wiped her head round and a couple of meters from her stood a very irate Jaqueline.

"Listen here you bilge sucking rat!" Jacqueline didn't scream, but her potent voice carried on like the boom of a thunder "I don't care what you say about me, but don't you dare threaten or insult my mates, you got that?"

"Well, if it isn't the liar" was the hateful comment from Blondie, her face set in a scowl.

"Let's make things clear, banshee. First off: I have never in my life lied about who my parents are. Want some prof? Here" and she pushed the picture of her MirroPhone onto Blondies face. Her gasp was quite telling and before the blonde could grab the device, she also pushed it into the MirrorPad for all of the audience to see.

"Second of all" she continued, as she pocketed her MirrorPhone "The only one needing 'rescue' as you put it, was that poor girl Raven from bullies like you, that feed this school with lies."

Blondie snorted at that, but Apple beat her to it, coming into focus on the MirrorPad

"Well, we couldn't expect mush of someone with such a dreadful sense of fashion. I mean, your clothes are just scandalous! You must change it for a dress!" It wasn't a suggestion, but an order and still irate, Jaqueline changed her focus from the Banshee, to Fake Blonde.

"So, how come that if what I wear doesn't' get your approval I have to change? It's called liberty." Inspiration hit her "Are you sure you aren't a villain in the making?"

Briar's jaw hit the floor, along with many of others from the audience.

"I'm not a villain, Raven is supposed to be!" yelled furious Apple.

"But it's you who wants to cut short my liberty, not Raven. And isn't exactly that what an evil and power hungry future queen would do?" she shot right back at the pale girl, not missing a beat "Also, I checked the entire manual of school rules. There isn't a single one that limits students on how they dress themselves."

She looked at all three girls "You are a disgrace to fairy tales everywhere"

With that, she turned to leave, but not before turning off Blondies MirrorPad and with it, the MirrorCast show.

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hello mates!**

**I finally finished Chapter 3!**

**It took forever to put what I have inside my head into words for some of the scenes and then linking them all, I think it shows, given how many words I needed. And how many words, nearly 5,000!**

**I seriously considered splitting this into two chapters, but I wanted to end up Jackie's first days at EAH without much delay, so it stuck together.**

**Her pirate slur was both fun and a pain to write...**

**Also, in this chapter you caught a glimpse of Marissa Aster. She belongs to the Six Swans/Wild Swans story (you can Google it with both names). I simply mixed up both names for the story, sound better if you ask me, anyway.**

**Hope you will like this chapter and where I'm steering the EAH characters.**

**As you can probably tell, I have little love for the characters of Apple, Briar or Blondie, each of them for different reasons (which I doubt you want me to tell you) and before anyone asks: yes, I have honestly compared Blondie to a banshee in my mind.**

**Once more, this won't center around my OC's, but I will use them to get this story moving where I want it to.**

**Now, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? Oh, yeah!**

**Please review, since I could use the feedback. Also, I'm open for suggestions on the chapter titles, since I honestly had no idea what to name them.**

**I own nothing but those characters from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**


	4. Chapter 4 Doomed Relations

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 4 – Doomed Relations**

After Blondie's MirrorCast show, the majority of the students couldn't help but to approve seeing Blondie put in her place - given the fact that she hadn't endeared herself to many, given how noisy she was – and she went from being one of the most popular Royal girls, being given the cold shoulder; and thus, to an all-time low in her popularity. Ironically, that MirrorCast show had the most views she had ever been capable of achieving. And the next MirrorCast she made had zero views, signaling also an all-time low with her audience.

However, while the majority was ok with how Blondie got her just right; not so many were so about Apple. Still, some were of the opinion that she had earned the remarks from the new student, since someone had filmed the entire casteleria episode - even Cedar's part on it, after Raven and Jackie had left - and posted it on MyChapter. Naturally, it spread like wildfire.

On a side note, there were also other more hidden consequences to the whole episode of the MirrorCast show:

Ashlynn Ella was not talking to Blondie, Apple or Briar after the live streaming of the show and the Casteleria episode. She took instead to hang around with her boyfriend and the friends she had among the rebels.

Jacqueline had talked with her roomie about her attitude towards Raven, which escalated to a fight and ended up in both of them ignoring each other. Melissa felt awful about it and tried to apologize, but Jackie wouldn't accept it, saying: "You are apologizing to the wrong person".

Poppy also fought with her sister due to her cruel remarks about both Jackie and Raven, which Holly had done on an attempt to impress Daring Charming, which lead to more arguments of the type of how Holly was changing until Poppy could hardly recognize her.

Raven's roomie situation hadn't changed and so, she simply kept up ignoring Apple's ramblings.

**~o°°o~**

The week passed by with little changes. Raven introduced Jaqueline to the other known Rebels like Madeline, Cedar, Cerise, Cupid and Hunter, who made the introductions with Ashlynn (to say that Jackie was exited at meting the couple would be to put it mildly) and took to hang with them. Unsurprisingly perhaps, she fit in just right with them.

Another week passed by in high tension on the school halls and everyone was just glad that the school week was nearing its end. The girls made plans on going to the Village of Book End to buy a few everyday things (like parchment and such) and meet with those working - Poppy and Ashlynn – later at the Mad Hatter's Tea Shop and throw a little celebration for Jackie's first two weeks at Ever After High. At least, that was the official excuse Maddie gave them for her tea party.

And so, we have Raven, Maddie and Jackie running a bit behind, since both Raven and Jackie had a late class on Fridays than the rest and Maddie was, well, the other two girls weren't certain, but it didn't matter now, did it?

"I was having tea"

Oh dear…

"Who are you talking to Maddie?" of course, Jackie doesn't know that you can hear me Maddie.

"Oh my! Why, the narrator, of course!"

Jackie looked towards Raven, but she only got a shrug in response "Don't look at me"

"Why would you look at Raven? Does she have a cookie crammed up beneath the end of a deck?" It was fairly obvious that Jackie had little experience with Wonderlanders, and it showed in moments like this. Raven took pity on her.

"Wonderish alert Maddie, wonderish alert" Maddie only giggled as she took out a cup from her hat, steaming with hot tea, which just now Jackie was eyeing suspiciously…

"Hey, are you sure she isn't, you know, three sheets to the wind?" she whispered to Raven, who shook her head and laughed; but Maddie heard it without problems.

"Oh you speak riddlish too?"

"Nay, I speak like a buccaneer, savvy?" she winked at the wonderland girl, taking a closer inspection on the 'tea'. Which was indeed just tea.

As they were leaving the school grounds, Maddie suddenly came to a stop, making both Raven and Jackie walk past by only to note that the wonderland girl was a few meter behind them without moving. They both hurried back when Maddie began to move again and looked straight to the pirate girl.

"Jackie, the sweet in the below that crosses your path needs to find its way to the raven. Would you be a dear and help it on its path before it losses all light?"

"What now?"

"Wonderish alert Maddie, wonderish alert" Raven warned the teal haired girl.

"Oh you silly feisty girl. You have to take a detour in the enchanted forest. Raven and I will wait for you at the tea shop" and with that, she took the dark haired girl arm and started to lead her towards said tea shop, leaving a confused Jackie behind

"What… but why?" Maddie turned her head towards Jackie, and her eyes were pleading.

"Please, just do it"

**~o°°o~**

Maddie and Raven were the first ones to arrive to the tea shop, closely followed by Cedar, Cerise and Cupid and few minutes later Poppy and Ashlynn arrived, followed by Hunter.

The clock ticked by second by second, minute by minute; and when they were starting to worry about Jackie. After all, she could get lost in the forest while doing Maddie's 'errand', which ever it entailed.

Maddie just told them that the sweet had to get patched up when Jackie entered the establishment, a dazed look on her face and with an unknown girl of petite figure, curvy chocolate brown hair with mint green high lights and caramel eyes.

"Jackie, over here!" Cedar stood up and waved, to make themselves noted in the small crowd.

"Hey mates, sorry to keep you waiting." as Jackie approached the table, still with a dazed look as she posed her gaze on the counter, where Maddie was messing around with tea pots and cups. Her companion behind her seemed restless.

"Whatever after happened to you? We've waiting for you since forever-after!" Poppy replied as she hugged the pirate girl.

"Yeah, I was doing an errand for Maddie and…." She trailed off, distracted when movement behind her broke her of her of it "Oh, where are my manners? Everyone, this is Saffron" she gently pushed the smaller girl to stand at her side "No worries, they won't hurt you. Cross my heart" Jackie drew an 'X' above her heart.

"Emmm hi…" mumbled Saffron, twisting the end up the skirt of her lovely white and mint green dress.

"Aw, she looks just like a candy doll" gushed Ashlynn, which made said candy doll blush and the rest laugh a bit.

"You look like you could use a nice cup of tea" Maddie appeared out of nowhere, and faster than a blink, she had pulled out a chair, had the caramel eyed girl sitting and with a nice cup of tea in her hands.

For a moment, Maddie seemed deep in thought, but then, she simply took Jackie by the arm and dragged her over the counter.

"Is it just me or Maddie seems more… crazy than usual?" asked Cupid, eyeing the backs of the retreating girls.

Hunter shrugged, before passing his arm over Ashlynn shoulders in a one armed hug.

"Dunno" muttered Cerise, Raven just shoots her an amused look

"Wouldn't be Maddie, I suppose"

"So, she is always like that?" Saffron couldn't help but ask, and this prompted the laughter of every on in the table.

**~o°°o~**

"You knew"

"Knew what?"

"Don't play with this Maddie. I don't know how, but you knew what I was going to find in the forest when you left me."

"Oh that!"

"Yes, that!" practically screamed Jackie, as she covered her face with her hands in clear distress.

"You were the best suited to save her, after all" at this, Jackie lifted her face "You see, I can sometimes see things"

"What sort of things?"

"Things that can be, things that could be" softly answered Maddie. Every time she told someone about her visions, it would be passed on as more of her craziness.

"Well, next time you pull another stunt like today, I'm just going to run and do what you tell me to do…" replied Jackie as she collapsed behind the counter, burring her face in her arms. She didn't doubt Maddie, not for a moment and not after what she had seen.

"You… you believe me?" the quiet surprised tone on Maddie's voice made the brunette look up from her arms.

"After what I saw? I'll never, ever doubt that you can see the future Maddie"

"Oh, thank you Jackie" Maddie's small smile said more than word could.

"Don't. You don't have to thank me"

"Well, I'm actually fairy surprised at how well you are taking this"

"Uh yeah, it's actually the only way it makes sense"

"Mmmmm… I just saw that that girl needed someone to lend her a hand…"

"Thanks for small mercies, then. It was awful" Maddie placed a hand on Jackie's shoulder "When I arrived, those… monsters had already managed burned her left arm and the girl was punching her as she lay in the floor. The boy was standing there with a torch and filming the whole thing… she looked so broken Maddie, I wanted to break every single one of their bones!" she ended in a wail, a couple of tears already down her eyes, which she quickly wiped off.

"I didn't know it was that bad…"

"How many more are out there Maddie? How many more are out there that are suffering in silence due to their stupid fate?!" Jackie yelled, thankful of the noise in the tea shop that covered her voice. But then, she turned to Maddie and the sad look on her face was so out of place, that she hated the cause of it. Maddie was always so full of energy, bouncy and care free, that seeing this facet of her was simply wrong. It was all wrong, this world was wrong.

"Did you ever saw Raven?" the words were out of her lips before she could stop them. Maddie got a faraway look and didn't answer for a while.

"Yes" she finally said "And I saw what all this hate and isolation would do to her." She got a faraway look "She is so kind and sweet, but she would lose herself among the cruelty of this world." The bitter smile on the tea crazy girl looked so out of place "So approached her and we slowly became friends. Best thing ever-after I could have done"

"Maddie, you are my hero" Jackie admitted right then and there, but Maddie simply laughed.

"Don't laugh! I mean it." She couldn't help but to join Maddie's laughter, it was contagious "When I grow up, I want to be just like you"

"Silly girl, aren't you older than me?"

"Blimey! There goes my dream!" She closed her eyes, tears stinging behind them, and grabbed at her chest as in pain, following the game for a few more precious moments, before she became serious once more "But for real, that's just amazing. You, Madeline Hatter, are the most amazing person I've ever meet"

"No you silly, Raven is amazing after not going towards the dark path set before her, Raven's defying destiny is amazing"

"There's that, but I can bet all my doubloons that she could only do it, because she had you"

"I am to be in shadows, and I am happy with that"

"You are still my hero" And she hugged the other girl.

**~o°°o~**

Maddie and Jackie returned to the table, carrying drinks and treats for everyone, only to find Raven and Saffron deep into a conversation about magic and other specifics, with the rapt attention of the others. Even if it seemed they couldn't understand, not to mention follow the conversation.

"Whoa, slow down. I'm not getting a word you two are saying" Cerise nearly growled at them, feeling a big bad headache breaking though her skull.

"Yeah, care to explain a bit for those not in the know, please?" Hunter still had his arm around Ashlynn.

"Sorry guys" Raven replied, both she and Saffron looking apologizing. "Well, what would you like to know?"

"Well, for starters: What exactly is magic?" asked Cedar. Raven looked troubled but Saffron answered before the dark haired girl

"Magic is energy applied to get something we want, whatever that is to put someone to sleep or make a flower bloom"

"Energy? I have never thought about it that way" said Cupid "But how come some can use it and others can't?"

"You know, I actually haven't the faintest idea" Raven blushed heavily after admitting that.

"You don't?" Saffron couldn't believe her ears and took a few moments to let those news settle in "Ok, first of all, magic can be learned by anyone who is willing to put the effort into it. Of course, it's not easy and it takes a lot of time –years, actually- for those who are new to it, but with enough patience and willpower, it can be accomplished. The only differentiation that exists on those who use magic it is if they need a medium to manifest their power, or not." Seeing the confused look around the rest of the table, she explained "That is, if they use a wand, staff or even jewelry. If they do use any sort of medium, the correct way to refer to them is witches or wizards. If they do not need one, the correct term to refer to them is sorcerer (tough in reality it really doesn't matter, they get mixed up all the time). The later ones are usually rarer, since magic is harder to control on your own."

"Oh, how exciting! So Raven here is a true sorcerer!" clapped Maddie

"But there are some that just are born with it, like Raven here." pointed out Ashlynn

"She didn't start to learn magic from scratch, right?" she asked said girl

"No, I didn't need to learn how to have magic; I just had it and just had to learn how to use it."

"That's where it gets actually interesting. You see, those who learned magic actually pass the ability to their children, and those children can access their inner power more naturally and easily than their parents, however, they lack control and thus need to learn how to use it, not how to get it."

"Wow" muttered Jackie "But what about those like Hopper, that he just can change into a frog at any given time? Or Briar that falls asleep anywhere?"

"That's easy" smiled Saffron "The key aspect of this is control. Do you control the magic or does this control you? Raven controls her magic where this boy and girl are controlled by the magic of the curse he or she is under"

"But…" Raven looked a bit depressed "I don't have actual control of my powers. Whenever I try to use them for good, they just backfire! It's like they have a mind of their own…"

The mint girl took Raven's hand in hers, her caramel eyes understanding "Good or bad is centered about choices, but remember what I said before about the children inheriting the parent's ability? It also affects wherever if the parent used his or her powers for good or bad. Of course, at the beginning of the child's life, it's neutral and can do whatever it pleases the child, but as they enter the teenage years, it starts to show preference towards the parent's inclination. It starts little, but soon enough, it gets to a point where the children of bad sorcerers won't be able to use their magic for good at all, no matter how hard they try. Same thing can be applied at the inverse"

"Is there anything I can do…?" Raven was looking at her hand (the one who wasn't clasped by Saffron) in despair.

"Of course you can!" a squeeze on her hand, took Raven back at the present "Magic alliances can be changed, but it takes a lot of hard work. Remember that is all centered on willpower"

"Well, that's good!" Cheered Jackie

"Do you know how can I do it? I've tried on my own with no luck so far" Raven looked at Saffron directly onto her eyes, lavender meeting caramel and something passed between both of them.

"I know some things…" Saffron shrinks a bit in her seat, noticing everyone staring at her, expectantly.

"Please, would you help me?"

"Sure…?"

"Thanks…"

"This deserves a tea party!" yelled Maddie, breaking the tension and making everyone laugh.

"So, how do you actually start? Like, what should Raven do?" asked an excited Cedar, happy for the so much needed help her friend needed

"Well…" began Saffron, while Maddie was tinkering with the teapots beside her "You start small, of course"

"Like, with what? How do you start small in changing magic affiliation?" asked a curious Ashlynn

"Ammm… well…" Saffron was looking around her for some sort of inspiration, that's when her gaze settled on a platter of cookies at the middle of the table. "I know!" Inspiration found, she turned to Raven excitedly "Think about - for example - making those cookies" she pointed at the before mentioned cookies "float into everyone's plates!"

"How does that exactly helps? And without backfiring, might I add?" asked a cautious Cerise. Raven simple looked at the plate like it was going to devour her.

"I was getting to that" she excitedly replied, only to notice her enthusiasm and shrink back a bit more. She focused on Raven "Don't think about what good your actions will cause, just focus on the action itself. You can even twist it, like thinking that if you make your magic float the cookies, you won't have to get up and do it by hand or something like that. Selfishness can be both good or bad, but the dark magic in you will recognize it as bad, as in saving you the effort because you are lazy or whatever, and will do it anyway"

Raven didn't look reassured, still eyeing the plate as if it was a bomb. Saffron sighed…

"However, if you think about it as helping Maddie not to get up, it would probably make the hole platter go out in a boom" now Raven, and everyone else on the table drew back their chairs in fear "It all begins with small steps. Just focus on the result, not what it implies Raven"

"There aren't enough cookies for every one of us…?" they all looked back at the plate, where 6 chocolate chip cookies lay perfectly still. It was a lame excuse, and they all looked at Raven in disbelief.

"For real?" asked an incredulous Hunter.

"Raven, you have to try" gently coached Cerise.

"Cerise is right Raven. You won't know until you try it" chorused Cupid and Cedar.

"You can do it Raven" yelled Maddie

"Okay… here I go…" and as the familiar violet glow appeared on Raven's hands, they all backed a bit as a precaution. But it was for naught, for slowly, that gentle violet glow guided all 10 cookies into the different plates.

The whole group stayed silent in amazement.

"I… I did it…" Raven looked down at her hands in joy "And nothing went horribly wrong!" she jumped out of her seat and hugged Saffron among the joyful cries of her friends.

**~o°°o~**

The group of friend continued talking, and every once in a while Raven would try to use her magic for not evil stuff with the help of Saffron. Currently, she was trying to replicate her favorite magic feat of her childhood: make a flower burst into butterflies.

"So, how exactly did you two meet?" asked Ashlynn to both Poppy and Jackie.

"We meet at Beauty School" a few eyebrows shot at that.

"My mom's idea" was the explanation "Needless to say, I was scuttling there. Poppy here saved my sorry self, way too many times"

"Remember THE mid-term exam?" Jackie was shuddering at the memory "We had to come up with a new scheme of color highlights and this one here somehow gave her blond wig something that resembled the rainbow. That was such a fairy fail!"

"Blimey! You are being too nice when describing it." looks at the others "It look like a rainbow that I had washed in a swamp."

Hunter laughed quite loud at that.

"It couldn't have been that bad, right?" Cedar picture the time she helped Blondie to prove just right the school myths…

"Worse" answered in tandem Poppy and Jackie, only to break in pearls of laughter.

"Oh curses…" Raven had just transformed the flower into a single lilac butterfly "It was supposed to burst in to a dozen more"

"Hey, you still managed it without making it go on flames. You are making progress" Saffron consoled her.

"Yeah, but that took way more magic that I thought it would Saffron"

"Don't be such a worry flurry. That was still hat-tastic!"

"Take a bit of a break Raven" Ashlynn pushed a cupcake towards her "You have been doing magic all afternoon"

"It's normal that this exhaust you, you know. It's all about making slow steady progress Raven" Raven picked up her own cup.

"I guess, but I can't help to be hexcited! It's been forever after that I haven't been able to use my magic like this!"

"Still, a break is in order" Cerise told her, a smile on her lips "Now, Poppy and Jackie were telling us how they meet"

"Oh yeah. We actually meet during our first class at Beauty School and Jackie here" she pointed to the cheerful pirate girl "was a right mess in it and I took pity on her.

"I will never thank you enough for that, by the way mate"

Poppy laughed some more "Well, it also helped us to become friends that we also had to sticking together with all those classmates of ours…"

"Urgh, don't remind me of them…"

"Uh, why would you need to do that?" Cerise looked at them both from underneath her cape, along with the others.

"Oh…" both Poppy and Jackie shared a look and a grimace. Some gesticulation went between them, before Poppy continued.

"Well…" Poppy doubted on how to proceed

"We were basically suffering for being the daughters of fairy tales…"

"Yeah, that's the short end of it"

"But why?" Aslynn asked them.

"It's complicated…?" offered Jackie, not really wanting to tell that tale.

"Pfff… no it's not. Outside, fairy tale characters aren't as popular as you might think. Mostly due to the suffering that some of the villains cause outside of their stories and also because some consider unfair the privileges that some get with little effort. Like how Goldie Lockes will get a happily ever after, after trespassing and destroying someone else's property, for example."

"Like what my mom did to all the land of Wonderland, you mean?" Raven was looking at the butterfly she had transformed from a flower mere minutes ago, flying above them.

"Sadly, yes." Jackie was honest, as usual.

"I had no idea…" murmured Ashlynn

"Yeah, well…" change of subject needed here "After all those sunken ships, my dad changed me at the end of the school year to the Naval Academy" Jackie continued as if they hadn't just unleashed a big pink elephant in the room. That's not literal Maddie.

"The what now?" asked Cedar, and she wasn't the only one, to which the name of the school didn't ring a bell.

"I've heard of it." Hunter turned to be the center of attention "It's supposed to be the best hero training school for those that don't have a story. Also, the best for sea related stuff, right?"

"You do know your hero stuff Hunter" praised Jackie surprised that one of them had actually heard of it. Aslynn kissed him on the cheek.

"Did you had trouble there too?" asked Cerise, making Jackie wince, since she hoped they could put that subject behind, for Raven's sake if nothing else.

"Yeah, but it was mostly due to my dad being a pirate and how good I was at stuff. That's also where I learned how to deal with bullies as I do now." She confided them in a conspirator tone, making them all lighten up a bit "Battle ship's simulations were my favorite thing there. We would form teams and have simulated battles on the school's ships. It was awesome and it eventually helped me to get some of my classmates off my back"

"How so?" sked Maddie

"Well, they preferred to be on my team than on the opposite of me. I used to go all out without giving quarter"

"Remind me to be on the same team as you when we start covering that on Heroics…" said Hunter. Half joking, half serious.

"Quarter?" asked Cedar "What is quarter?"

"It means mercy" a very masculine voice answered her and looking behind her, she was meet by the view of Jason Hook. The blush that came over her made her feel the grain of her wood burn, but it was worth it in her opinion for such a great view.

Jason Hook not only was tall, and dressed in elegant pirate garb in brown and navy blue with a long red coat, he was definitely handsome with sun kissed skin, long curly dark hair pulled back into a pony tail and intense blue eyes.

"Oh, but if it's the old seadog. How are you Jason?"

Jason's face contorted into a grimace at the sight of the girl, a light punch and glare from the handsome fair skinned, silver haired and light blue eyed prince in white and brown prince clothes with a golden crown on his head beside him the only thing that made him answer.

"I was quite well… until now"

"No need to be rude, you know?" The baritone, with hints of bass, voice of the prince standing next to the next Captain Hook, send a shiver down Cerice's back.

"Well, you wound me" replied with heavy sarcasm Jackie, now having a glare contest with the male in front of her.

"Ejem…"

"Let's get out of here pal" said Jason while trying to push the other boy, still not breaking his stare contest.

"Ejem!"

"Damn it! No!" he finally broke eye contact to tell off the other boy, but this one managed to elude him and took Jackie's hand in a very prince-like gesture.

"Excuse, may I present myself? I'm Dominic Rosecastle, friend and roommate of Jason here. And I have to say, I have been wanting to know you for a while Jaqueline"

"Eeee thanks?" Jackie was now really uncomfortable thanks to Dominic's gesture and, wait… was Cerise glaring at her? She cleared her throat "This are my friends: Raven, Maddie, Saffron (why did she looked surprised?) Hunter, Ashlynn, Cupid, Cedar and Cerise…"

"Pleasure to meet you all" Dominic replied with a small smile, while in the background, Jason looked murderous…

"Dom…"

"Oh just shut up! You've brought this on yourself. I told you I wanted to meet her, after all" he told him.

It all seemed like it was going to escalate into a fight between them when the bells of the door jingled and a yell reverberated in the walls.

"No hex, you didn't!"

An older girl with long light brown hair and brown eyes in lavender dress with pink details here and there, stood at the gate looking both surprised and furious. She turned and annoyed glare at her companion of olive skin, blue hair and amber colored eyes.

"Well, I had to do something, since you wouldn't be bothered to make proper introductions" and with that, she pulled the brown eyes girl towards the rebel's table.

"Dominic!"

"Earie, dearest!" both the prince and the blue haired girl hugged "Have you found my 'princess' yet?" he asked as they pulled apart with a wink. It was obviously a joke between them, since the girl merely giggled in delight.

"Give me a break, would you?" she winked back.

"This reeks of a set up" Jason stood with his arm crossed and glaring at his friends back.

"Never thought we would agree on something Hook" the lavender dressed girl replied, also crossing her arms and looking with distrusts at the pirate.

"Darling" he acknowledged with a nod of his head

Jackie, meanwhile, had sunk as much as possible in her seat, head down and buried in her arms.

"Giselle, if you had only made proper introductions…"

"I told the same thing to Jason here…" interrupted Dominic

"And you are?" Interrupted Raven, casting a worried glance to Jackie, only to be ignored by the seniors.

"So, where is she?"

"She is right there, the one with her head buried in her arms" laughed Dominic, clearly amused by the discomfort of those around him.

Faster than a blink, this blue haired girl had Jackie out of her seat and was critically looking over at her.

"Oh wow! You can really see the resemblance"

"I know!" and with that, Jackie was dragged between Jason and Giselle, looking like she would rather be anywhere else. Cupid couldn't help the surprised exclamation that left her lips, for it was once looking at the three of them side by side, that the resemblance was as obvious.

"Giselle, your sister looks so much like you!" indeed Jackie and Giselle had similar looks, having similar bone structure and hair color.

"Don't leave my man out; they have the same eyes! You guys are really of the same blood" he grinned.

'This are Jackie's brother and sister!?' Ashlynn though surprised as well on how much they looked alike (she wasn't the only one), since not all siblings share resemblance. I mean, look at the Charming siblings!

Earie and Dominic would have kept comparing them, if Jason hadn't lost what little he had of patience.

"She is nothing mine! Thank you very much!"

"Likewise…" muttered Giselle.

Jackie forced her face to look impassive, but her friend saw the hurt looking behind her blue eyes.

"Knock it over, would you!" boomed a voice behind the Hooks and Darlings.

"Smithy!" Jacqueline's face lighted up at the sound of the voice and turned around to smash herself the chest of the newcomer in a hug, who was definitely not a high school student, but rather a young adult in his early 20's in suiting pirate garb with kind brown eyes, hidden behind a pair of glasses and long brown hair underneath a pirate bandana.

"Hey there little riff rat" the man said while hugging Jackie back "Long time no see" he held Jackie at arm's length "Like my surprise?" he asked cheekily at Jason, Giselle and Jackie.

"So this was your idea Smith…" growled Jason.

"Not his idea alone" cheekily told him Dominic "I contacted him, since you couldn't be bothered…" he finished glaring at Jason. The older man just laughed at this.

"But how did you know where I was going to be?" interrupted Jackie, still hugging the older pirate and not really wanting to know what machinations had happened behind her back.

"It's ridiculous easy when you know where to look" " he nodded towards Poppy "I just cheeked MyChapter… Poppy made a post about meeting you lot here and the rest is history"

The sound of Poppy's hand against her head trembled against the walls of the shop, leaving in its wake a wave of silence. That, was quite disturbing.

"Erm… yeah, careful what you put up on the mirror net next time… So, Jackie, care to present me to your friends?"

"Eh, right… just next time hext me, ok?" replied the girl "Emmm, guys, this is  
John Smith, my brother in all but blood. Smithy this is Raven, Maddie, Cerise, Cedar, Cupid, Saffron, Hunter, Ashlynn and of course, the one you already knew but haven't meet: Poppy" she said pointing to them in turn.

"I'm confused…" Poppy was looking at Jackie, who had finally had let go of John to make introductions "I always thought he" she pointed at John "was your brother"

"If only" muttered Jackie in a sad tone.

"Almost. We grew up together" smiled Smith, while taking the offered seat that Maddie had took out of her hat for these new arrivals. Giselle and Jason ignored the offered seats, remaining standing behind their companions.

The large group was curious about one another, and so chatter quickly began to float, or at least, was starting to…

"Have fun Earie, I'm out" Giselle said as she tapped on her friend's shoulder.

"What?! Hex no! How long has it been since you last saw your sister? You should totally stay Giselle"

"I rather not" was the gritted answer

"But this is a tea party! You must absolutely have a cup of tea!" yelled excited Maddie, and pushed Giselle and Jason onto their chairs.

"It's just a cup of tea" murmured Jackie. Resigned, Giselle let herself be seated by an over enthusiastic Maddie. She could see Jason receiving the same treatment, and that made her smile against the hot cup of tea that had found its way into her hands.

**~o°°o~**

Conversations floated all around her, but Giselle's focus remains onto her tea cup. She had no desire of being there, but had resigned herself to that for the time being. Meanwhile, both John and Jackie were suffering the fate of being questioned by the teenagers at the table. For John it was with the desire to know about life beyond high school and his various adventures as a pirate under the command of the legendary Captain Hook. For Jackie it was about getting to know her more to satisfy Dominic and Earie's curiosity.

All in all, the ambient around the table was a pleasant one, if you ignored Jason's brooding and Giselle's uncomfortable silence.

All too soon for the majority, the time to return to the castle neared and they started to rise from the table, which started to clean itself.

'Finally!' thought Giselle as herself and Earie where on route to the door.

"Your sister is great! I have to hang out with her more often…" Earie muttered to herself, unaware that Giselle had heard her without a problem among the general noise of people getting ready to return to the school. All afternoon, she hadn't stop chattering about how great Jacqueline is and was already making plans to hang with her (they already had made plans together for that day!), and incorporate her to their group of friends ("Of course they are going to love you Jackie!" said Earie), and who knows what else she had missed while she was contemplating her tea.

That's when Giselle realized with sadness that Earie, her best friend forever after, would choose Jacqueline over herself. Just like her mother always did… Couldn't she have something just for herself?

Ever After High for the past 3 years had been just that: a place of her own, where she could be herself while she made friends that didn't knew her family's secret: how her mother cheated on her father with the villain of her story and brought Jacqueline to this world.

Ever After High had become to Giselle Darling the only thing in the world that Jacqueline couldn't touch nor take away from her… until she did.

"She's just an attention seeker…" grumbled Giselle

"Come on Jackie girl! Tomorrow you have to come with us shopping!"

"Sure, sound good" the girl replied with a smile

"No!" yelled Giselle, finally losing it "We made plans to go shopping just the two of us Earie"

"Hey, calm down" Giselle looked with hatred at Jacqueline

"You! Don't interfere and just stay away from me and my friends"

"Woah, calm down." Earie interfered "There's nothing wrong with one more. The more the merrier, right?"

"So long as it isn't her" Giselle jerked her head in Jackie's direction. "Trouble follows wherever she goes"

"That's quite unfair, don't you think?" surprisingly enough, Jackie stayed silent, just watching the argument between Giselle and Earie.

"She's just a mistake that should have never come to be" gritted Giselle.

**~o°°o~**

'I should have seen that one coming' thought Jackie in a daze.

She had heard worse all her life from Giselle's father and Jason's mother, without a care of her presence. It was a constant source of conflict between her parents and their respective spouses; it shouldn't have surprised her so to hear once more from someone else's lips.

'Then why does it still hurt?' she thought as she saw her sister being pushed out of the tea shop by a furious Madeline Hatter.

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hello again!**

**I was finally able to post Chapter 4, thank you all for your kind reviews and patience.**

**This should have been done and delivered ages ago, but good news everyone: I finally got a job!**

**Currently, I'm posting this from theoffice, since I left my USB last Friday (I went nuts looking for it all weekend) while taking advantage of the office's lull thanks to the birthday party we had a bit ago in honor of the boss's wife/sales managerwhile I eat some chocolate birthday cake. Of course, I won't be able to do this like, ever again, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts**

**As for the story, this chapter took a different path that I wanted. I'm barely beginning and it already it has a mind of its own, damn it!**

**Also, I can't seem to be able to move pass this day and its getting ridiculously long (I broke my previous record, this chapter is well beyond 6,000 words long), which is why I cut it were I did. And I still have much more to write before the weekend of the gang of EAH is over. Again: Damn it!**

**My favorites of this chapter are the interaction of Maddie with Jackie and Raven with Saffron.**

**Also, this chapter introduces some new Original Characters of mine. Can you guess the fairy tale where Saffron, Dominic and/or Earie belong? Or their respective fairy tale parents?  
John, Jason and Giselle are more than obvious.**

**And no, the Darling-Hook siblings don't get along very well, with their family history and all that. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with those 3.**

**Please review, since I could use the feedback. **

**I own nothing but those characters from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**


	5. Chapter 5 Glimpse to the Past

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 5 – Glimpse to the Past **

Jason Hook would admit he wasn't a good guy. Hell, he was far from it!

Being a pirate trough and trough, but he was sure he had heard wrong - being on land so long must have begun to do funny thing to his senses for sure! – what Giselle Darling had just uttered about their common and undesirable familiar.

He didn't get along with Jackie on the best of days, he resented her even and sometimes when he had been younger that same thought had crossed his mind more times that he wished to be able to admit– since without her, surely his mother and father relationship wouldn't be sunk as it was and they would be happy together – but to actually say that to her face, was beyond mean and cruel.

He felt as if something in his chest break free, something he hadn't felt before and without understanding what he was feeling nor doing, he was out of the tea shop; nearly bowling over the Mad Hatter's daughter in his way out.

"The hell was that?!" he roughly took Giselle by the arm, making her crash into his chest.

"You know damn well Hook!" Giselle yelled at him, her mind clouded by, her neck extending to be able look him eye to eye. "Everything would be better if she simply didn't exist!"

Jaqueline, it all revolved around her for them both.

She was the point of connection and rupture between Jason and Giselle, and not their story as it should have been.

She was the living proof of their respective parent's infidelity.

She was the source of their respective insecurities and fears; of not being good enough for the destinies ahead of them, not good enough to love, not god enough to keep their parents together.

They often had been pushed aside of the love and attention of their respective fairy tale parent when Jackie showed up, and they had grown to resent her for it.

It should have been him (Jason) who sailed onto some great adventure with dad and his crew, as the sun started to rise in Never-land.

It should be him who the other sailors would come to, when they needed for someone to talk with his dad about something that might upset him.

It should be him who shared jokes with Smith.

It should be him, not Jacqueline. Because it would be him, who one day will take over the mantle of being the fearsome pirate Captain Hook.

That resentment had been feed by their respective non-fairy tale parent; and it was just a matter of time for it to turn into hate. They each showed it differently: where Jason would ignore her, Giselle would attack her.

And now, she had stepped on their last safe heaven: Ever After High.

It was too much, just too much to ask of them…

"You must have thought it too!" yelled Giselle at Jason's face, her face a mask of cold fury that would have surely earned her top marks in General Villainy, if she were taking the class.

"I had" he admitted solemn, Giselle looked triumphant at his admittance "and I'm not proud to admit it."

It took him years, but just recently he had started to see the world as it was. Oddly enough, the Royal and Rebel conflict helped him open his eyes at how wrong their world was, and that it would remain so with or without Jacqueline.

As much as he had believed, when he was a kid, that Jacqueline was at fault for every wrong in the world, she wasn't. Oh, it still hurt, but it wasn't Jacqueline's fault.

"But she exists and it's none of her fault that neither my father nor your mother followed through their marriage vows." he applied pressure into her arm, pained to admit that out loud.

Pained to admit that his father was as imperfect as anyone, pained to know that his father would have still been unfaithful to his mother, either with the elder Darling or another woman.

And to know, that his mother's heart would have ended up broken, anyway.

Marriage wasn't written down in his story, so that only meant they had married out of love. But then, why had his dad married his mom in the first place; only to cheat on her?

But Jason had vowed to himself that he would be a better captain than his father; that when he married someone, it would be for love and that he would be faithful, no matter what.

Giselle rolled her eyes, not willing to admit defeat and tugged on her arm with more force than her petite frame would give away

"Oh please…" she drawled, poison slipping through her words "Now you are taking her side? And here I thought that at least we could agree on how much of a living pain she is"

Jason furrowed his brow. A few months ago, he would have agreed with Giselle, but he had simply grown tired of it all

"You really are immature Darling. What an immature and self-centered little girl you turned out to be" he growled, before releasing her arm, which Giselle took as an opportunity to take a couple of steps away from him.

"And I'm the bad guy?" muttered Jason to himself, as he turned his back on her, throwing a last glance over his shoulder.

**~o°°o~**

After Maddie had thrown Giselle out of the door, and Jason left, the whole place stayed in shocked silence.

Jackie a light touch on her arm, and turned to see Saffron's caramel eyes looking at her with concern. Raven right next to her, had her sight fixed on the door, looking equally disturbed.

She gave the minty girl small sad smile. Somehow, Saffron understood, without the need of words.

Jackie was used to this sort of things and no, she wasn't ok. But she would be, eventually.

Slowly, Saffron approached Jackie, not breaking eye contact, and simply hugged her. That was the spell breaker that everyone seemed to need and soon, yells filled the tea shop, mostly of outrage; since Earie apologizing on behalf of Giselle.

It was all background noise for Jackie, who was hugging back Saffron.

Suddenly, she felt someone behind her; looking over her shoulder, saw that Raven had joined the hug.

She had never felt so cared for as she did now, as Poppy, Maddie, Cedar, Cerise and Ashlynn joined them in the group hug.

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, so she hid her face on the top of Saffron's head.

Eventually, the group hug dispersed. Hunter and Dominic gave her awkward comforting pats and Smithy a brief hug, Earie looked on the verge of tears herself.

She lightly touched the fairy's arm.

"I just don't know what got onto her. She is just the nicest person I know!"

"If that was nice, I don't ever want to see how she can be nasty" cut Ashlynn annoyed and interrupting, much to Jackie's relief what was sure to be another painful and awkward moment. Earie wisely, remained quiet.

"It's getting late, and you lot need to return to the school" John told them all, as the sun had already set down. "Let's go" And he escorted them to the bridge that connected the school with the small village.

Jackie was the first one out the door then, with Poppy and Saffron close behind her. Maddie quickly bid farewell to her dad and ran after them.

Dominic was leading a still distraught Earie next, with Cerise following him closely while Cedar was looking at her perplex.

Ashlynn, Hunter and Cupid quietly followed them all and lastly, John himself, closing the group.

He was cursing under his breath, when Cupid felt into step with him.

"So, John…"

"Yeah?" he answered, vaguely paying her any attention.

"You know Jackie, and you obviously know Jason and Giselle…" she trailed off to chance a quick glance at the older man, whose mind was still far away.

"Mmmhmm" he made a vague affirmative sound.

"Did… something happen? Recently, I mean. You know, that made Giselle be so cruel with Jacqueline?" That got a bit of John's attention.

"Nothing recently, Giselle has been like that since forever-after" he answered the pink haired girl "My only surprise was Jason not joining her" then mumbled John to himself.

Unfortunately for him, Cupid heard him just fine.

"What?" the pink haired girl hissed.

Finally, out of his mind, he realized his audience and John wanted so bad to slap himself, but held the impulse. "Shhh!" he silenced her and looked ahead. He could only see the back of Ashlynn's hair; whom looked deep in her own thoughts, a little behind Hunter.

'Seems no one else heard me' he thought with relief just as Cupid once more fell into step just next to him.

John looked over the wing feathered girl beside him, not really wanting to talk any more than he already had, but it was clear that Chariclo Arganthone Cupid would not stop persisting until she got all the answers she wanted, which could easily catch the attention of the others (something he was loathe to let happen).

And he had Jackie to consider too.

Curse it all to hell and back! If he didn't tell anything to this lass, she would spell trouble for him and if he did, Jackie would put a black spot over his head and he would find himself in Davy's Jones'Locker faster than a blink.

So John Smith made a split decision then. He would tell Cupid a bit of it all. Who knew, maybe even the girl's dad could lend a hand in all of this mess?

"It's complicated kid…" Cupid glared at him, obviously not liking being called a kid - Up's! – but also, as he the pirate had early suspected, not really in the disposition of not getting her answers (maybe something from Blondie had finally rubbed on her…)

"But I suppose love usually is" John continued, without a care about the look of surprise in Cupid's face "I don't that much (tough I suspect Jackie has the full puzzle) and what I do, I know from my old man who let it slip one night after he got loaded to the gunwales; which it's as rare as a veteran sprog, so he doesn't remember telling me anything, savvy?" now he looked at Cupid, his entire demeanor serious. "And Jackie **can´t**" he stressed the can´t "Know that I had told you even a peep of this, or she will have me as shark bait" The girl only nodded.

John continued "The captain and Mrs. Darling were the best of friends since Nursery Rhyme, an once they hit puberty and started at EAH, they were still good friends that wanted to go further, if you catch my drift"

"So they had feelings for each other?" Cupid said, with hearts in her eyes. How romantic!

"They always did care for one another, and in time those feelings grew and they wanted to be more than friends, they wanted to be a couple…" he trailed off, with a small lopped smile on his face "But because of their damn destinies keeping them apart, they couldn't very well go do as they wanted. So they did it in secret, even after they signed the story book of legends and well until they were close to finish high school... until that trice damned Pan stuck his nose where he shouldn't…"

"What happened?" asked Cupid, her heart tightening, fearing the worst…

"They were discovered" the sad look on John spoke more than words could, but nonetheless, he carried on "Since they had taken their pledges, they were obviously forced apart and some years later Mrs. Darling got married and not long after so did the Captain." he gave the crestfallen looking girl a small pat on the shoulder, he hadn't finished "Odd thing is, that they married people who they had never been able to tolerate (old classmates of them), according to my old man"

John gave Cupid a very significate look, but seeing as the girl didn't quite grasp what he was hinting at, with an exasperated sound from the back of his throat.

Shiver me timbers! This lass was still oblivious to the workings of the world… bless her.

"I have never been able to get a straight answer, but everything hints that they were obliged to marry who they did, so they couldn't be together."

Cupid was horrified. "That's horrible! True love is unpredictable: that's part of what makes it so beautiful!" she vehemently argued, you could hear the passion on her voice "You never know when you were going to be hit by it, be it at first glance or growing slowly from friendship. To break apart true love…" a lone tear ran down her cheek, but before she could wipe it away, John's thumb was erasing any trace of ever being there with the tender touch of his thumb.

"I know, but most likely, they were each threatened with the wellbeing of the other. After all, once they played their parts in the story, the rest is uncertain. It would just be a matter of staging a ship wreck where the Captain lost his life, or some sort of fatal accident at the school Mrs. Darling works" John took a moment to look towards Jackie, his looped sided smile back in place "But they couldn't keep them apart for long. No matter what, their love prevailed."

"If they hadn't signed that book from the start… they could have been together from the beginning!"

"But they did. They choose to sign it and have lived to regret it for the rest of their lives." he let out a troubled sigh "Not only that, but they also have their other kids to take into account. It hasn't been easy for anyone, Jackie most of them all, but maybe too for Jason and Giselle, since they got dragged into the fight without really knowing anything."

"If only..." Cupid couldn't finish, insecure about what exactly to say.

"Aye, but that's neither here nor there" John understood her and they just continued to walk in silence.

Unknown for both of them, Ashlynn had been following every word of their conversation.

**~o°°o~**

The sun of a new day risen when Raven was quietly closing the door to her dorm room. Thankfully for her, Apple had been in the middle of checking herself on her magic mirror for the 5th – or was it 7th? – time that morning alone, to be sure she looked her 'fairest'. Taking an opportunity when she saw one, as quietly and fast as possible, she disappeared from Apple's radar.

Thing between the frenemies were… more complicated than usual. It might have started with the royal baking contest and Briar framing her, but after THE mirror cast and Ashlynn's refusal to spend time with the Royals, Apple seemed to be even more unbearable on regard to their story. It seemed like Apple hoped to be the water that erodes the stone of Raven so, if only to keep the pretense of peace at the school, Raven had taken to avoid her at all costs.

Raven quickly made her way to Jackie's room, since she was still concerned about the previous day events.

But when she knocked, it wasn't the buccaneer girl who opened the door, but her roommate, Marissa Aster: The Six Wild Swans princess, who ran at the mere sight of her. Oh gort!

"Emm yes…?" mumbled Marissa, hiding behind the door to her room, obviously surprised at seeing the Goth girl.

"Hi!" curses, that came out to cheerful, Raven cleared her throat "I was wondering, if, you know, Jackie was here?" Marissa blinked "I just wanted to check on her, since, well…" Raven trailed off, dropping her gaze at her shoes, unsure about how much to tell. But Marissa's eyes widened.

Things between herself and her roomie might not have been ideal, after the whole Casteleria fiasco, but the princess still liked a great deal the pirate girl and had noticed that something big had happened the previous day. Jaqueline wouldn't talk about it last night with her, and Marissa gave her the space she needed, if only for a moment.

"Yes, she is here, but she is sleeping." And with that, Marissa stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door "She looked awful last night and wouldn't talk about what happened. Is everything alright?" she asked, looking raven eye to eye, with concern written all over her features.

Raven saw that, and the words just spilled out of her lips. She talked in whispers with Marissa about Jackie's brother and sister, how coldly they treated her, how she had avoided even looking at them and how she cheered up when John Smith appeared and the hate in Giselle's words when she said Jackie was nothing but a mistake and Maddie pushed her out of the shop and Jason left right after that. How Jackie closed after that and tried to pretend nothing happened. And finally, she talked about how worried she was for Jackie.

Raven's heart clenching while she spoke and Marissa's as she listened, in mute horror and disbelief. She had six older brothers - two of them her other triplets - and while they didn't always got along or agreed, they never treated each other so badly.

Once Raven finished, they both delved into silence, each immersed in they own thoughts and forgetting who they were supposed to be.

That's when, in a moment of clarity, Marissa realized that even if Raven was the daughter of THE Evil Queen, she was nothing more than a sweet girl who cared deeply for her friends, no matter how little she had known them. A sweet girl who she had done nothing but judge her without knowing her and thus, had treat her horribly since Nursery Rhyme. But before she could dwell in the guilt of her actions, she understood why Jackie hadn't accepted her apologies.

But as Marissa had the words on the tip of her tong…

"I should probably go... Please tell Jackie that I passed by" Raven, interpreting Marissa's silence as being uncomfortable with her supposed evil person, decided on a quick exit was the most appropriate course of action.

'Curses!' and just as she had been about to apologize. Her heart gripped in something like panic then, but with a calm "Nonsense!" she took Raven by the arm "Please, don't leave on my account" she looked at the other girl, "I know I have treated you poorly, and I apologize for that. I was wrong of me to judge you without knowing you" she looked at her hand, still holding onto Raven's arm "I am so sorry for that and I have no excuse. So please, accept my apologies"

Raven was speechless, so she only nodded, but Marissa couldn't see due to the tears gathering on her eyes, so with her free hand, Raven gently touched her on the shoulder, finally making her look up

"I don't blame you. My mom was quite scary and, well, since I everyone expected me to be just like her…" she trailed off a bit "There's nothing to forgive" she ended with a small smile, and Marissa let go of her arm, to remove the tears of her eyes.

"Then, let us start over" se extended her hand "I'm Marissa Aster and I hate Princessology class, I prefer drawing"

"Raven Queen and I love music" she answered as she took her hand on a gentle shake.

"Now" Marissa took both of Raven's hand on hers "Let's wake up Jackie, shall we?" she gave the other girl a conspirator smile "But I have to warn you, Jackie is a heavy sleeper and hates being waked up"

Raven laughed at that. Who would have imagined that Jackie liked to sleep a bit more, after all?

**~o°°o~**

The bright sun of that Saturday morning made for a good omen, or just a lovely weekend, thought Saffron as she left her dorm room and exited the castle.

It was early, too early perhaps for the meeting that had she had been invited by Raven. She still couldn't wrap her mind about her previous day: being saved, included in a groups dynamic, teaching magic, seen someone else suffer scorn over things beyond control and offering comfort. Is this what having friends were like? She rather liked it and was treasuring every single moment, for as long as she could.

Despite the early hour, she decided to make her way towards the village. The new shipment of the library should have arrived and she couldn't wait to see what was new.

Saffron loved books, finding reassurance among the withering pages and letting herself be transported far away. Unfortunately, the shipment due at the book shop wouldn't arrive until the middle of the week, so she decided to better use the remaining time finishing her latest project.

She had just left the book shop and was walking back towards EAH when a curious green being hopped its way in front of her without her knowledge.

It was a talking frog. With a little red bowtie on his head and a crown on top of his head.

"Oh ribbit! Excuse me fair maiden" Hopper jumped as far as he could, which on an upwards motion was quite a lot, letting him float a moment right in front of Saffron's face. Unfortunately for them both, this was a first for Hopper being able to jump so high and a first for Saffron in meeting the frog prince.

"Ahhhhh!" she screamed in surprise as she took a step back, only to trip on her own feet and fall where mere seconds before she stood.

Hopper hopped on her lap, once quite surprised as well.

"My deepest apologies. It seems like I don't know my own strength, I have never been able to achieve quite such a long jump before" the little frog apologized.

Meanwhile, the poor girl was trying to get her breathing back to normal. "No problem, you startled me, that's all. Sorry for the scream" she apologetically finished, after all, it was really awful to only be meet by screams, she had firsthand experience, you know.

"Oh not all, my beautiful lady. It is I who should apologize for startling you" she blushed quite strongly at being called beautiful "But I fear I am in need of your assistance" that got her attention.

"How can I help you little frog?"

It was usual for Hopper to meet someone who hadn't heard of the fumbling prince that got transformed into a frog every time he got tong tied (that is, all the time). It seemed like, perhaps, she was a new student – he hadn't seen her around the school, after all – like Cupid had been. "Oh my. I haven't properly introduced myself, have I? I am Hopper Croakington the second. Pleased to make your acquaintance" he bowed as much as his frog form allowed him, which elicited a small giggle from Saffron.

"The pleasure is all mine. I'm Saffron" she inclined her head "Just Saffron" she took Hoper in between her hands and stood up. "So, how can I help you Hopper? Can I call you Hopper?"

"Lovely Saffron, of course you may refer to me by my given name, as long as you would honor me to do as well." Saffron blushed anew, but just a bit this time. "And this may sound… odd, but would you grant me a kiss?"

"A kiss?" now she was blushing.

"Yes, you see, I am under the spell of an evil witch" her crestfallen expression gave Hopper all he needed to carry on "whose predecessors had also cured my father and his father and so on into this frog form you see. That is, until we are free from the curse by true love's kiss. However, this curse has been carried away in our blood" he added miserably "As such, whenever I am flushed with word on my human form, I transform into this until a fair maiden, such as you, gives me a kiss"

"Of course, that sort of enchantments tends to linger, even over time" she added, lost in her knowledge "I will gladly help you, but… How come you get 'flushed' with words? You seem to be quite the poet right now"

"Alas, if only I possessed my poetic skills in human form, but I do not and instead every time my lips part, I get tonged tied"

"Oh, that seems more than unfortunate…" so not only did he transform, some traits were divided between forms? She had never heard of anything like it. Hopper, meanwhile, looked over at Saffron, reinforcing his previous statement about her being beautiful. Whoever shared his destiny alongside her, was lucky fellow. Saffron noticed his look and, while blushing, she charged head on and pecked Hopper on his froggy lips.

As the magical smoke covered him he thought with surprise 'She kissed me on the lips!' that had never happened to him, girls would always kiss him on the cheek or the forehead, but never on the lips, since they were so repulsed by his outside appearance to even think about it.

Finally, the smoke cleared and there stood the awkward red haired prince.

"Erm… hi" better to keep it simple, less he returns to his green form "Ammmm… thanks for that"

"Nice to meet you as your human self" she smiled at him and just as he was opening his mouth to put his foot in it, as usual, she interrupted him "No need to say anything, really, you already told me you weren't as good with words as a human than as a frog" he could only nod, but as she gave him a little wave goodbye, he called out to her.

"Emm.. you know, it's still early" she looked back with those deep chocolate eyes of hers "And I dunno, maybe you want to get a coffee or something? Just, you know, to say thanks…" he shuffled his feet, embarrassed by how it all came out. He wanted to punch himself, being all awkward after THE kiss. But he had been kissed plenty of times so he could be human again - but never on the lips, his treacherous mind reminded him – so why did it have to be THE kiss?

"Sure, I would like that" He looked up at the sound of Saffron's voice and fearing he would make a fool of himself if he opened up his mouth, he silently offered his arm, which the girl shyly took

**~o°°o~**

'Oh no' she had totally lost track of time and now she would have to rush to the other end of the town. She should have cut it short, she knew as she periodically checked the clock, but she has having such a nice time that she was loathe to end it.

"Whazz up?" a male voice beside her interrupted her panic attack while watching the clock. She was turning her head in confusion

"Huh?"

"I mean, I mean…!" the boy tried to rectify quickly: only for a poof of magic later, turn as a green frog. The prince wanted to scream', but refrained 'Every time! Every cursed time I open my mouth!'

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to sound so disrespectful towards your person" Saffron's only response was to blink.

"Oh, it wasn't anything like that. I was just having a bit of a panic attack…" she dared another look towards the clock "I'm awfully late for a… meting?" she couldn't decide on what to call it yet; unsure if it was real or just another trap.

"My apologies. It seems like I have imposed myself on you"

"Nonsense. Time flew talking with you Hopper" then she realized he was still a frog "One second" so she picked him up and lightly kissed him on the lips. As she had done over the past hours' every time he transformed. Hopper wasn't complaining.

"Oh, still…" Hopper mumbled once more a human "Maybe I could escort you…?" he mumbled, awkwardly. 'Argh fool!' he berated himself 'Why would she accept? And he sounded so pathetic! Get your act together Croakington! You need to be more cool and princely like or else, you will have green skin for the rest of your days'

Hopper had shrunk back a bit on his seat, on an attempt to hide his embarrassment. His lips firmly shut.

"That would…" she paused for a moment and Hopper mentally prepared himself for the rejection "I would like that very much, Hopper" she smiled and the prince's spirits lifted up a bit.

And escort her he did. Hopper felt as if he was on top of the world.

This day had turned to be better than he had expected, after he had been turned down once more by Briar Beauty (that's how he ended up as a frog, to begin with). He had been hooping around aimlessly in the village, looking for a girl who could kiss him back into human, when he had spotted Saffron. That's when things turned out for the better for him. For once, a beautiful princess hadn't denied him a kiss at first glance and had even accepted to take some coffee with him. Well, he had a hookus latte and she had asked for a en-chai latte.

'Saffron is cool' he trough as he retired Saffron's chair, like the gentleman he struggled so much to be. They had talked about all sort of things and he had really enjoyed her company; but the best thing about meting and hanging with Princes Saffron. Of course, at this point, in Hopper's mind, Saffron could be nothing but the most generous and kind princes on all realms.

More so with how patient she was with him, every time he got tinged-tied. Which happened a lot, since he tended to get nervous near pretty girl (in his top ten, Saffron definitely appeared, just behind Briar).

He offered Saffron his hand as to help her get back on her feet and was meet with the most stunning smile in the history of ever after.

They left the coffee shop, neither of them nothing that they hadn't let go of the hand other; much to the pleasure of the barista that had served them and watched them go hand in hand.

"So..." they had been walking for a few minutes in silence, that even if it wasn't uncomfortable, it bothered Hopper "You never told me what's your story" he looked at the chocolate eyed beauty next to him.

"Oh" muttered Saffron, but before she could answer him, someone literally crashed onto her. Hopper tried to hold her, but forgot he has holding her hand and in the end they both fell.

A few confusing seconds later, Hopper realized that his attempt to save the princess hadn't work, but before he could mentally berate himself, Saffron's painful moan got him on full alert.

"Saffron, are you okay?!" he tried to stand up, but slipped midway on the colorful wrappings that were now covering everything around him, Saffron and whoever rolled them over.

"Owwww, I think so" she mumbled from underneath a thrown over bag filled with balloons. "How are you Hopper?"

But the frog prince didn't answer, instead slid in front of her and took of the balloons from her hair, examining her from injury. His story and his part on it might not be about bravery and gallantry (he would be struck on a pond until he could recover a golden toy) but still, Hopper Croakington II had been raised as a gallant prince and he would act as such.

"I'm glad that that you are okay" he answered as he removed the last balloon from Saffron's hair, for a moment, lost in the girl's eyes.

Until a groan reminded him of the world around him.

"Hey!" he yelled as he stood up and helped Saffron "You have to watch where you are going! You could have hurt someone!"

"What?" replied a familiar groggy voice.

'Oh sweet fairy godmother...' thought Hopper in alarm, as he realized that it had been Briar Beauty who ran into Saffron. And from the sound of it, it all had been due to her narcolepsy.

"Briar? Are you okay?" Saffron looked at him in confusion; looking utterly adorable if he might add he approached the fallen princess and offered her his helping hand, which the princess ignored in favor of looking around to the chaos, perplexed "Briar, can you hear me? Are you ok?" Hopper asked once more.

"I think so..." murmured the next sleeping beauty "What happened?" asked the party girl as she finally took Hopper´s hand and raised from the ground.

"Well..."murmured Saffron, from behind Hopper "You crashed into us and we all fell to the floor"

"Seems like you fell asleep" offered Hopper, as he released her hand.

"Oh no, not again!" Briar face palmed herself in frustration and then look around her to the mess of party supplies she had been carrying.

"I take it then, that this happens quite often" Saffron's chocolate eyes where following the pink dressed fairy teen.

"More like all the time!" Briar yelled in frustration at no one in particular. Saffron jumped bit at the yell and grabbed Hopper´s arm on reflex.

Hopper looked at his side, where Saffron's small hands where curled around his arm and her doe like eyes wide open. Once more, the idea that Saffron was a new student, took hold on his mind

"Briar is the next sleeping beauty" he softly told her "As such, she tends to fall asleep everywhere at any time"

"Oh" she said, as she was looking at the frantic "Yes, I heard that happened, but I never imagined it was this severe"

A snort cut Saffron's faint voice "You have no idea" practically growled Briar, then she looked at Hopper "Are you going to stand there or do I have to pick all this by myself?" she fanned out her arm; signaling the mess of confetti and balloons, for emphasis. The frog prince jumped into action and quickly began to gather all the fallen items, while Briar took out her mirror phone and checked out her make-up.

Saffron look with incredulity at the princess; who was checking that her mascara was just right and then to the red haired prince, who was picking the ruined party supplies from the floor with a dumb smile on his face. But when Hopper looked up towards Briar, and that ugly dumb smile grew, did something clicked on Saffron's mind. And she felt anger on behalf of the awkward prince

"You could have at least say 'please', you know?" she said as she took Briar's hand to lower the mirror phone "Hopper is picking all the things you dropped, so the least you can do, is acknowledge his chivalry and say please and thank you"

"Whatever after" Briar rolled her eyes and continued where she left off. Saffron could only stare at her in disbelieve. With a frown, she walked away from her and towards Hopper, whose back was turned towards the girls.

Hopper's arms where loaded with the supplies he had already picked up and continued to pick up, when a light tapping on his shoulder made him turn around.

In complete silence, Saffron took what he had gathered in his arms and quickly tossed it aside. The crash, as it made contact with the floor, managed to pull Briar's attention away from her make-up.

"Let's go" she took him by the arm "If Briar can't be at least polite, she doesn't deserve the help you offer Hopper"

Then, in stunned silence and shock, Saffron took Hopper's arm and began to lead him away from the crash scene.

Hopper was mute in his disbelief; he had of course heard the brief exchange between the girls, and while it wasn't unexpected Briar's behavior, it still hurt him. That's why he hadn't said even a ribbit when Saffron dragged him away.

They had walked quite a bit, before Saffron felt calm enough to talk "It's fairly obvious that you like her" she wasn't looking at him "It's fairly obvious that this isn't the first time you run to do as she says" the hold she had on his arm increased slightly as she faced him with a frown on her face "But what it isn't fairly obvious is what you see in her"

"Because... she is hot?" wrong answer. Saffron´s frown increased.

"That's the best you can..." she let go of his arm as the words rushed to come out "For real? But.. but... argh! You actually meant that? How can you... What about the inside?! That... that..!"

"What's to you anyway?" growled Hopper as he crossed his arms, feeling defensive on behalf of his crush.

But that was enough to bring Saffron up short. They had barely meet and he was right, it was none of her business.

"You... are right" her shoulder dropped as she admitted that, but she had felt so much indignity at how Briar took advantage of poor Hopper's crush on her. "I just..." she tried to justify herself, but suddenly she felt so tongue tied.

She looked over at the red haired prince and her shoulders dropped a little bit more. "Never mind" she muttered, as she rubbed her arm.

Now it was Hopper's turn to take a pause and really look at the quiet girl in front of him, and found that he couldn't quite manage to be mad at her. If her where honest, Briar's behavior hadn't been that expected of a princess.

"I really like Briar, don't know why, apart that she is beautiful. I just do" he admitted "Even if she sometimes takes advantage of it" he added with a bitter smile. Really, he wouldn't be able to name the times he had transformed into a frog because he had gotten nervous around Briar. "I don't like you bad mouthing her, but thanks" he added "For, you know, sticking out for me. You didn't have to, but still you did. Your friends are lucky to have you." he began to trip over his own words "As a friend! Of course, what else would you be, and I would like us to." he quickly sad "be friends! Unless you don't and then... then this would be all awkward and... and..." he tripped over his own words, but the damage was already done and so; with a poof, his green appeared.

"Friends?" Saffron blinked owlishly a couple of times, before a beautiful smile spread across her features "I would like that very much Hopper" she told him as she closed her eyes and kissed him once more, all the while struggling to keep the tears of happiness at bay.

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hello once more! So, chapter 5 stubbornly stayed incomplete, but at least now I feel better, since I have been able to show you more of Saffron.  
She actually is older than Jackie, as in I created her before, and originally, they each would feature in different fics. But what the heck, I'm just mixing both plot lines now and while it drives me bonkers sometimes, I seriously enjoy and look forward to how the will influence each other.**

**Also, this chapter, shows the mayor divergence where Jackie and Saffron are concerned. ****I dare you to guess what is it.**

**And I'm STILL disappointed that no one tried to guess the parents of Earie or Dominic. Only purplewombat225 tried to guess the parents of Saffron.**

**Anyway, as you already now (and for the benefit of those who don't) I'm not able to write as often as I would like, thanks to the commute I go through every day to go to work, but I'm doing my best and hope you like where this is heading, wherever that is, since this story already has a mind of its own.**

**On a different note, and before leaving you hanging, I have to ask: Did anyone of you saw the leaked/announced photos of Kitty and What's-her-name-something-ginger? I honestly hate the how the dolls look, they look cheap (to be nice about it).**

**Thanks to all the anonymous and guests reviews (whoever you are), hopelessromantic4life, luciayshadow, Ace, PrincessofDreams, Taranodongirl1 and purplewombat225 and for their reviews so far and to all of you, once more… PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**I own nothing but those character from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**

**Kimera225**


	6. Chapter 6 The Evil Among Us

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 6 – The Evil Among Us**

"Jackie was going to wear a hole on the ground with all her pacing." said Raven Queen in a conspiracy whisper to Marissa Aster, who giggled in response, no doubt enjoying Raven's humor at the expense of the pirate.

"I heard that!" grumbled a bad humored Jackie. How could she not be, when her friends woke her up with the loudest and annoying alarms, sirens and honks they could find (or conjure) at 9 past 20 on a Saturday.

Saturday, for crying out loud!

She wasn't a morning person, and really, she kind of understood the need to wake her up, but where the police sirens where really necessary?!

Still, she continued her pacing up and down and all over the walls of the Haberdashery and tea shop. Literally. Some of the rugs and floors of the wonderland establishment allowed her to walk along the walls.

On a side note, she ought to get a frequent client card or something, with how often she came to this place.

More laughter filled the establishment, since Raven and Marissa weren't the only ones there. Poppy, Ashlynn and Cerise had joined them as well, under the pretense of doing the shopping they hadn't got done the previous afternoon. But really, they just wanted to keep an eye on Jackie.

After both Marissa and Raven had dragged out of her bed screaming hell and vengeance to them all, she had glared at them as she went into her bathroom to get changed. She apparently recovered her sleepy state in those few minutes and had been worryingly (for Raven, mostly) quiet and unresponsive ever since and all the way down to the village around the school.

That is, until Maddie slipped her something with caffeine. Afterwards, she came back to her usual witty self.

Sadly, that didn't last.

Saffron had agreed to meet up with them the night before at 10 in the morning. It was now 11:30 and Jackie had been climbing up the walls in anxiety ever since the clock struck 10 and the chocolate-mint girl hadn't appeared.

Most of the others agreed that something most have kept her up, and since she didn't have any of their number, couldn't let them know and thus, the waiting had begun. With much poking at Jackie's expense, after they were told the waking up scene, of course.

Jackie was now up the wall and turning around when she had reached the ceiling, when the door finally opened and the petite girl entered.

Cerise would have a run for her money with how fast Jackie was down and next to Saffron, nearly tackling Hopper Croakington out of her way in the process.

Saffron was currently being held at arm's length by the brunette, who was checking her for injuries or anything with a critical eye.

"What in the seven seas happened to you? I've been worried sick!" she said as she crushed the other girl on a quick embrace.

"I'm sorry" mumbled Saffron after being released.

"Calm down, she is here." chuckled Cerise "Hi Hopper" she greeted the prince.

"Hello Hopper" greeted in unison Ashlynn and Poppy. Raven managed a friendly wave.

"Hi" managed to croak the prince to all the present ladies.

Jackie hadn't released Saffron just yet "I'm glad you are ok." a lopsided smile broke though her face "But I still want to know what happened to you" she added with a raised eyebrow and looking between Saffron and Hopper. The smile slowly growing.

"Oh, right. This is..."

"Don't worry, we all know Hopper ever since Nursery Rhyme" piped Maddie, as she popped out of a door just a little to Saffron's left side, making her jump in return.

"Tea, anyone?" she offered as she poured upside down. They all stared at her casual display against basic physics.

"Oh well, we just meet as I helped him transform back into human form" she explained for the sake of breaking the silence "And we had something to drink, time flew and I hadn't realized I was late" she omitted the encounter with Briar "I'm sorry"

Jackie's eyebrow threatened to disappear into her hair line of how much she was raising it, but she wasn't the only one amused at what was obviously happening. Ashlynn gushed a quiet but quite pitched 'Awww' that made Cerise pull her cloak tighter, despite her smiling face; while both Raven and Poppy tried to hide their ear reaching smiles behind their hands. Maddie just poured more cups of tea, this time sideways.

"I'm sorry too" added Hopper, as he and Saffron where oblivious to the bubbling cauldron of estrogen.

"Well, I... I mean we..." his nerves got to him at having the girls look at him and in a poof, he was a frog. "I apologize for keeping the lovely Saffron from your company, my ladies. I greatly enjoyed the pleasure of her company far too much."

"No problem. Hopper, right?" smirked Jackie.

"Ah! Indeed. I believe we haven't been properly introduced, dear pirate lady."

"Nice to meet you, Hopper" she cut him, mid bow. Really, all the curtsey and bowing was awkward in normal circumstances for her, but having a frog bow to her? Better not go there.

"Pleased to make the acquaintance of a friend of Saffron" replied the little frog, as Saffron crouched to pick him up. "Thank you, fair Saffron."

"Don't mention it" she added with a sweet smile.

"Alas, as much as I would enjoy the pleasure of your company fair ladies, now that I have escorted this lovely lady, I most regrettably must take my leave, for I have other matters that call for my attention"

'You mean, run back to Briar?' thought to herself Saffron, as she mentally rolled her eyes.

"So, if you could please kiss me so I could return to my human form"

Saffron nodded, but afore she could kiss him and with a giggle, Ashlynn stepped closer and took the prince from Saffron's hands

"Allow me" and with that, kissed him on the cheek, turning him human once more.

"Amm... thanks "managed to say Hopper, scratching the back of his head on an attempt to hide his frustration that it hadn't been Saffron the one to kiss him.

Saffron, meanwhile, was a little baffled, since Ashlynn hadn't kiss him properly and had still worked.

"Best be going then..." Hopper waved, goodbye to them all and the girls responded in kind, managing to make him blush and them giggle all the more.

Just as he was opening the door, he stopped and turned. Then he walked straight to Saffron, but stopped when Maddie pushed in his way a writing feather and some paper. He took the writing instrument without complain and scribbled something in it.

With a whispered 'thank you' he once more walked towards Saffron and offered the slip of paper.

Saffron took it and saw that there were some number on it

"My mirror phone number" he said without looking her in the eyes, instead his gaze looked on the floor as a barely perceptible blush made way onto his cheeks. "Just..." he

"Thank you Hopper" she softly told him, now blushing as well.

The rest of the females were watching the exchange with rapt attention.

He finally looked at her and both of them smiled at the same time.

On the background, Maddie squeaked in joy and Cerise dragged her behind a couch to shush her.

"You know, I'm glad I meet you" he added as he walked backwards to the exit of the establishment "See you around" he waved as he opened up the door.

"Bye Hopper, I'm glad I have a friend in you" she told him, to the mute shock of their audience.

"Me too Saffron, me too" he flashed her a smile as the door closed behind him

The watching audience barely managed to suppress the screams of frustration.

**~o°°o~**

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Earie Fairy; daughter of the fairy godmother of the tale "Toads and Diamonds" as well as the "Beauty and the Beast", was currently on a crash course for a confrontation with her Best Friend Forever After.

If it was up to her, this would have happened as soon as Giselle had put a toe inside their room, but foreseeing this, she had arrived well into the night and Earie had already been beaten by sleep.

But now, the blue haired fairy, was patiently biding her time, pacing in front of the door, for Giselle to wake up. For such reason, she had thrown a bit of some left over "Wakey, wakey" powder at Giselle (she had done it as part of a project in magical chemistry).

Her wait was rewarded, Earie's eyes glinted predatorily as she watched Giselle emerge from the comforts of her bed, bleary eyes and with her hair tousled.

"Morning Giselle" watch said girl jump some good 2 feet into the air would have amused her in any other situation. Not today though...

"Oh, hey Earie." Giselle got nervous the moment she heard Earie's cold tone 'Big smile, acts as nothing happened'

"Just let me get fairest and then we'll go have our shopping spree" one of Earie's eyebrow rose and with a flick of her ringed hand; where she wears a small ring to better focus her magic (a gift from her aunt the Blue Fairy), Giselle was looking as she had gotten up hours ago.

'Oh oh' Giselle's blood left her face whit the magic display.

"We" Earie pointed to both of them "Have to talk"

**~o°°o~**

Back at the village of Book End; Raven, Maddie, Cerise, Ashlynn, Marissa, Poppy, Jackie and Saffron had gone shopping for school supplies (and had took a detour over a clothes shop or two) and where now at Saffron's favorite spot in the village: Book End's book store.

"I mean, why? It's fairly obvious, so why?" growled at the roof Cerise. 

They were currently between the bookshelves of Crownculus and Alchemy, while Saffron was looking for a very specific book, that would help Raven with her powers.

The store clerk had apparently misplaced the last available copy, at least, until the new shipment arrived and they had agreed to split up to look for it.

Yet, most of them had found one another and began to discuss the interactions between Hopper and Saffron of course. They had all gotten thrilled to watch the unfolding romance story, only to be abruptly cut with their declarations of friendship.

Yeah, teenage girls getting excited at romance, sue them!

"I know! They were so sweet, that I swear I got a cavity or two!" joked Poppy.

"It doesn't make sense, really. Saffron obviously like Hopper and Hopper likes her" Raven added her two pennies to the conversation. "If that wasn't love at first sight...!"

"Oh" Ashlynn's lament interrupted the purple haired girl "I was so certain that Hopper was going to kiss her, at least on the cheek!" the princess was crossing her arms "Did you see their faces when I took Hopper the frog?"

"I know!" Poppy yelled a pointed with the book on her hand "But did you see Hopper's face as human? He totally wanted Saffron to kiss him!" she finished, with a dramatic swing of the book that made them all retreat a bit.

"If only someone could help understand the ups and downs of teenage love" added Maddie, twirling her cup of tea.

Movement around stopped at once.

"CUPID!" they all yelled in realization at once. A mad dash for mirror phones began.

**~o°°o~**

"What is there to talk?" Giselle had dropped all pretense and had made way straight from the door, only to be blocked by a magical barrier.

"You know damn well why!" the barrier pushed Giselle onto a chair and now, Earie was looking at her eye to eye. Both of them glaring at the other, until Earie pushed herself away from the chair. "I can't reconcile my best friend with that ruthless and insensitive prat from yesterday." she took a breath that was supposed to calm her, but only brought forth the anger and disappointment she had been holding back in check since yesterday and that had festered during her waiting. "You obviously don't like your own sister..."

"HALF sister" spat Giselle, interrupting her.

"Heavens help me!" Earie could feel herself losing what little patient she had left, when she looked at the hatred that was shining clear on Giselle's brown eyes "What has Jackie done to you, that you ...? "

"Hate her?" the cold delivered statement froze Earie "I HATE Jacqueline! I HATE HER! I HATE HER! I HATE HER AND I WILL HATE HER UNTIL THE DAY I DIE!" Giselle was grabbing the arm rest of the chair, yelling for all the world to hear just how much hatred she had stored up inside.

The slap on her face surprised her as much as it did to Earie.

"What do you have against the girl?!" Earie was now screaming too (albeit, not as strongly).

"EVERYTHING!" Giselle buried her face on her hands, finally breaking into sobs

**~o°°o~**

"You mustn't!" Cupid warned them through the mirror phone "They are at an early stage and if you interfere, you'll do more harm than good"

They had been talking with Cupid and after they had told her everything they saw; and I mean everything!

Cupid had agreed with them that this had all the signs of being a great romantic story, but point blank forbid them from making anything about it, like pointing out what for them was crystal clear.

"Curses!" Poppy swore, and she wasn't the only one who felt frustrated.

**~o°°o~**

'Seriously?'

It was the only thing that Earie could think as she watched her roomy and best friend have a meltdown.

She felt conflicted about what to do, but ultimately, decided to hug Giselle as she let it all out.

'This, is going to be a long day...'

**~o°°o~**

The girls had spent great time together, before the tired themselves of all the browsing on the shops. They had retreated back to the Mad Hater's haberdashery and tea shop for some lunch, when they found out that Ashlynn wasn't the only vegetarian, but Saffron as well.

"I don't even ever eat anything that once upon a time was alive! I just can't"

Her yellow-ish complexion when Cerise's stake arrived would not be forgotten very soon.

Afterwards, and at Maddie's insistence, they had a tea party. Marissa had to left them after the first round of tea; to meet with her brothers and currently, they were the only customers left on the shop, as the lull of the afternoon settled in.

Well, almost.

Cupid's warnings were still ringing on their minds. No one wanted to harm either Hopper or Saffron by pushing them when they weren't ready. Still, and taking advantage of the fact that Saffron was off the range at the back of the tea shop; courtesy of Jackie, to discuss something utterly important.

How to call them.

Currently, it was a tough fight between Hoffron, Sapper and FroggySweets.

"Oh hey sugar cube!" thankfully Ashlynn spotted Jackie and Saffron coming over the table and her loud greeting brought the attention of the others, making them fall silent at once.

"Hi" Saffron shrank into herself, finding suspicious the abrupt silence that meet her. At Jackie's insistence, she took the available seat across from Raven and Ashlynn, while Jackie took the empty spot next to Poppy, Cerise next to her and then Maddie.

"So, what's new?" asked Jackie, eyeing them all with a lifted eyebrow, as if to indicate their obvious lack of discretion.

"Not much" shrugged Cerise, tugging at her cape on a nervous habit.

Silence filled the table, all them fiddling with their cups and spoons, not able to come forward with what they had really been talking about, as to not embarrass Saffron.

"Well..." Ashlynn thought fast, not wanting to appear suspicious "Saffron hasn't told us much about her" she looked at them and kicked someone (by the jump, Poppy). Cupid forbade them to tell her the obvious, but never about helping her find out on her own!

"Err... yeah!" sprang Rapunzel's daughter, finally catching up with Ashlynn's intentions of diversion. Still, she rubbed her leg "I just have to know: Who made your highlights?"

Jackie had to snort a laugh at that. 'Trust Poppy to talk about hair!' she thought with fondness.

No one else expected that, especially not Ash, who currently covered her face with a hand. Probably on frustration...

"Oh" Saffron hadn't seen that one coming either, but answered none the less, while playing with a mint lock of her slightly curly hair "No one really. I've always had them"

"Really?" Poppy was now leaning to examine the natural highlights, but a small tug at her shirt stopped her.

"Inherited them from my grandpa, I think" added Saffron with a small smile at her lips, eyeing the same lock of hair.

"That's nice" Raven commented "I got my purple hair from my mother, but I think I got this shade of black from my dad"

"Your dad?" Jackie asked between sips of her tea cup

"The Good King" any eyes opened big as plates at that.

"Ummmm... so that's where you get the whole being bad at being evil!" joked Jackie, picking her jaw from the floor (no literally Maddie!).

"I suppose" Raven laughed a bit, not uncomfortable in the least, given that she got that reaction all the time when her dad was brought up in conversation.

"I would have sworn that you were Apple's aunt, given how the story of Snow White goes..." Saffron said, as she pulled towards her a scone.

"You know, evil step mother kind of gives that impression" added Poppy, as she took a bite out of a cookie.

"That's true" Raven rested her chin on her hand "My mother married Apple's grandfather, but they divorced, after she followed the story and poisoned her step-daughter and then she had married my dad and had me."

Cerise let out a soft amused snort "That certainly doesn't follow the story" that earned a few chuckles around the table

"Step mother..." Jackie was mulling Poppy's words, and she felt her soul drop when she realized... "Hold on!" she even stood up and pointing at Raven "Does that mean, that if Grimm and fake blonde got their way, Snow White dies and you have to marry Apple's dad, a man old enough to be your father?!" Oh fairy godmother! She felt sick, just thinking about it.

"The current Snow White, but… yeah…" Raven looked miserable as she twirled her submerged spoon on the tea cup.

"That's..." words left Jackie as she looked at her friends; all of whom were unable to look her in the eye while looking uncomfortable (perhaps Ashlynn looking the most uncomfortable). If she hadn't been already sitting, she would have surely fallen.

And then, the verbal tide wanted to make an appearance, but all that left Jackie's lips was a faint "Current Snow White? I always thought that Snow White was a name"

"It used to be" Poppy explained, "but Snow White, Cinderella "Poppy pointed to Ashlynn "Rapunzel" she pointed at herself "and the like, became more like titles to be earned, once you follow thou the story."

"Oh…" managed to answer, staring into her cup "No wonder you don't want to follow destiny Rae, being Apple's step mom..." she cringed just thinking about it.

Raven was also staring at her tea cup, reminiscing "Not only that..." Jackie pointedly looked at the dark haired girl "All the men that saved one Snow White or another, end up marrying a Queen, who also happen to be their deceased wives' half-sister." it feel good for Raven to take that out of her chest.

"What?!" Ashlynn's grip on the table tightened.

"My mom's dad is Apple's great-grandfather. And if she hadn't married afterwards the Good King, my dad could have been her (Apple's, that is) grandfather"

"Oh my fairy-godmother!" Cerise exclaimed.

"Those apples fall to much near next to the tree, if you ask me" Maddie remained unfazed in light of Raven's family tree (of course, she already knew much of it), but a slight something in her eyes showed how much it disturbed her as well. "

"Ugh, this is too much upsetting!" complained Poppy

"I agree" Saffron mumbled next to Poppy.

"And just how long has this been happening?" asked to no one in particular Jackie, her chin on her left hand, the others just shrugged in response. Now that was a question...

"Could we talk of something else?" begged Cerise, uncomfortable even among her friends, once more pulling closer her hood as to hide her ears.

"Besides Raven's family tree? You know all there is to know about mine" joked Jacqueline with a lopsided smile.

Among some laughs, the others agreed on that, but then...

"How about your parent's Saffron?" asked Poppy, curious. On her other side, Jackie faltered mid sip.

"Oh" Saffron shrank a bit on her seat "My mom died a long time ago and I never meet my dad" As soon as the words left her lips, Poppy winced, as did most of the table occupants "I live with my grandfather, I could tell you about him if you like" she offered, seeing the sympathy glances coming her way. But her teary eyes, when she mentioned her mother, spoke volumes.

"Oh, sugar cube" Ashlynn reached her hand out to her, in return, Saffron gave her a watery smile. "Still, you must have your happily ever after to look forward to...?"

"Why would you think that?" she asked honestly curious.

Ashlynn exchanged glances with the rest of the table, who seemed confused too.

Well, except for Jackie and Maddie, the first was avoiding eye contact and the second was pushing the floating tea cup towards Saffron's cup.

"Aren't you a princess?" Cerise asked her, but got no response besides a dainty lifted eyebrow.

"Ummm..." Raven ventured out "What is your story again?"

"I don't remember" murmured Poppy "Hey, Jackie?"

"Don't look at me" the alluded one raised her hands as she winked towards Saffron "My lips are sealed" and she made the mimic as if she was zipping her lips closed and Saffron giggled at her antics.

When Raven and Cerise looked at her, she just moved her head from side to side.

"What a hat-tastic game!" Maddie jumped of her seat "To find the role, guess the story with what little you know! I positively like this!"

"Maddie..." Ashlynn began in a clear exasperated tone, but seeing how the mood had lifted, let whatever she had been about to say, drop.

And soon, they were all discussing the probable fairy tale story of Saffron.

Most stories were quickly voted down by the guessing team - Raven, Poppy, Ashlynn and Cerise.

"The wonderful wizard of Oz", "Rumpelstiltskin", "The White Doe" and many more fairy tales where mentioned, much to the frustration of Raven, Poppy, Ashlynn and Cerise.

But it was only just getting interesting...

"The Nutcracker?" threw in exasperation Cerise. It had been fun, but now it was getting annoying. Ashlynn felt like giving a shout of victory with Cerise's thrown guess and Maddie's widening eyes.

Saffron certainly looked like someone from the Sugar Kingdom, ruled by the Nutcracker King.

Raven hugged Cerise and Poppy gave her a high-five.

"So, you must be the next Nutcracker then?" Cerise felt confident in her question.

"Can't be" replied as one Ashlynn and Poppy. Still, another character was a possibility.

"Ummm why not?" asked Raven in return, while Maddie, Jackie and Saffron watched them have a go in their arguments about why she had to be this or that character. Again.

"Never knew my dad, and I'm supposed to follow my mum's?" offered Saffron.

"There's that" conceded Ashlynn "but also, because the Nutcracker King doesn't have children" she added sad.

Raven raised an eyebrow at that.

"Even if he was married to someone, it would make no difference..." Poppy left out a discontent sigh "Poor man, he really is a good fellow. Meet him once" she added for the benefit of her friends.

Cerise only let out a half agreeing 'Mmmmhmmm' to prompt them to continue.

"Well, it happened when he was following his story. The Mouse King cursed him, before he was defeated, to never be able to have children." Poppy told them.

"That what the heart knows, but the mind can't see. Tragic indeed, pages of sky reveal otherwise" Maddie murmured to herself in wonderish.

"That's... harsh" everyone on the table agreed with Cerise. What would it be of the story of the Nutcracker with no one to follow that legacy?

It was a very real concern for the United Fairy Tale Kingdoms, and it had earned the Mouse King an imprisonment similar to that of the Evil Queen (well, just no inside a mirror).

"Yeah, but no one really likes to talk about it, so it's no big deal you didn't knew Cerise" consoled her Ashlynn. Still, she eyed Saffron, but didn't get the chance to say something. With a shake of her head, Saffron let her know that wasn't her pre-destined story.

Saffron, meanwhile, watched all the girls seated around the table. Her heart swelled with how open, caring and inviting they were with her. Jackie and Maddie already knew and hadn't judge her. 'Why not?'

"Do you really want to know?" She was looking straight at Ashlynn, who only nodded.

Saffron took a deep breath, closing her eyes; barely missing how Maddie had taken a hold of Jackie's arm. But she could still feel the eyes of the other watching them.

Slowly, she opened them "Hansel and Gretel"

In an odd turn of events, the entire tea shop was engulfed in absolute silence. Not even the clock´s ticking could be heard.

"But Ginger Bread-House..." Cerise faint voice broke the spell, her eyes wide open.

"Ginger Bread-house was my grandmother"

Ashlynn let out a scream in terror and backed away from Saffron, as the information registered on her mind.

But she wasn't the only one. All but Jackie and Maddie had backed away until their backs were pressed against a wall. Cerise was even softly growling.

Tears were running down Saffron's eyes.

That was enough for her and with that; Saffron Wicked, the last descendant of the Cany Witch from the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", ran out.

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hello once more!**

**Chapter 6 is finally here! Merry what-ever you celebrate! I'm not into religion, so I'll just go with Happy Holidays. May this season treat you better than it has been with me so far. My boyfriend of more than 8 years and half dumped me... by cell phone... while I was on my way to work... on the day of my youngest brother's birthday...**

**Yeah...**

**Suffice to say, I'm quite messed up in the inside.**

**My comment last chapter regarding the dolls from both Kitty and Ginger, where based on personal taste. I probably need to see them, but the photos were disappointing for me.**

**Also, I'm probably biased.  
Sue me, but I prefer my approach on how the daughter of the witch from Hansel and Gretel looks like, a lot more.  
Not to forget that Saffron was my first EAH OC (I would say, she finally came to be around February) and later on, Jackie (May, for her). So yeah, she has been around for me all this year... damn, I just realized that! Why in ever after took me so long to write and publish this?! No, wait... I just remembered: the thrice damned thesis and professional exam ¬¬**

**Thanks to all of you who have left a review, no matter how small. And once more… PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**I own nothing but those character from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**

**Kimera225**


	7. Chapter 7 The Triplets

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 7 – The Triplets**

Marissa was very much enjoying her weekend. It helped matters that she was on speaking and friendly terms with her roomy, had enjoyed a very pleasant tea party at the Mad Hatter's tea shop and just a few moments before was leaving the Multi-Hex theater after watching a humor packed film with her triplet brothers: Marlon and Marston.

Marlon and Marston Aster where nearly identical; from their pale skin, to their tall statures with deep red hair, angular jaws, straight noses filled with freckles and even their clothes, which consisted on brown trousers complimented with dark brown boots, dark yellow shits with three quarter sleeves and golden crown on top of their heads. Their only distinctive feature between them where their eyes: Marlon had winter grey eyes - just as Marissa - while Marston's eyes where blue than grey.

Life was looking up once more in her book and she couldn´t think of anything that could ruin it for her.

However - and unknown to her - it seemed as it would be a chaotic day in the village of Bookend; as she spotted a girl crashing and bashing in despair thought the crowds, with tears clouding her view making her way towards the forest surrounding the usually clam town.

Her brothers, of course also took notice. And how could they not, if the girl looked the image of despair itself and was a clear picture of damsel in distress.

Marlon and Marston - ever the gentlemen - looked towards Marissa; who with a nod of her head gave them go in that silent communication of theirs, walked ahead of their sister and towards the maiden, carefully positioning themselves on her path - and blocking their sister view- after sharing a brief look between them, to stop her and hopefully help.

"Such beauty, should not be marred by tears" as gently as he could, Marlon took the girl´s right arm.

"My brother is right. Pray tall miss, what has upset you so?" Marston asked as he, just as gently as his brother, took her other arm.

But the girl only shook her head, and ran past the brothers and continued her path towards the forest.

All Marissa was able to see, was a distinctive head full of curly chocolate brown hair with mint highlights as it got away from her. But what in ever after had happened? Last she had seen her, not but a few hours ago, she was fine!

It might not have been comely from a princess, but nevertheless, she took off after her with a "Saffron! What's wrong?!" Marlon and Marston ran slightly behind her, baffled at their sister unusual behavior. And when had she met this Saffron?

But that wasn't the only chaos that was brewing this day.

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hi *Rises a white flag***

**I am ever so sorry for almost taking a year since my last update; but as it happens life has been chaotic, I've been broken hearted for most of this past year and my job sucked sooo bad I relapsed into depression.**

**Also, when I looked forward to the EAH movies to inspire me to write again, I was thrown even deeper into despair. Don't get me wrong, they were good to watch on a day with bad cramps, but story wise, they... well, the holes, inconsistencies and what they did at the end of "Way to Wonderland" kinda killed what was left of me on the inside.**

**I'm so looking forward to closing this year and that's all I want to say about that.**

**Anyway, enjoy this tiny little chapter as a present for the holidays and being so patient. I just wrote it on a flash of inspiration (don´t be fooled, there is such a things as a muse, and picky ones at that).**

**And before I perform a feat of magic and disappear (like, running from the tomatoes some surely want to throw my way): Thank you! Thank you! taffybratz, abbie, animefan (tempting, it's was oh so tempting to follow your advise), LizzieHeartsfan3 &amp; Inquisitor Czevak.**

**Thank you oh so much for your kind words :)**

**Dear guest, I'm aware of the relationships between the original characters from Peter Pan, but as stated in previous chapter, this are their great-great-great-grandchildren (got to check my notes on exactly how many greats those are) and I hope to go deeper onto that, rest assured.**

**hopelessromantic4life ¿? All I can say in my defense for the abrupt end of the past chapter is this: teenagers are beings that are emotional to the extreme, give them some with crappy futures thrown upon them and well... someone pokes them and they explode in tears (or so I remember from my own teenage years *shivers*)**

**As usual and again, thanks to all of you who have left a review, no matter how small. And once more… PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**I own nothing but those character from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**Kimera225**


	8. Chapter 8 Accepting the Ugly Truths

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 8 – Accepting the Ugly Truths in Life**

She was going to hex the hell out of someone! Preferably her brown haired, brown eyed roommate. Earie had been so sure, so certain that things were going to be alright; she could have betted her ring on it (and luckily hadn't). She felt hope for being able to help Giselle (after she burst into tears) to fix her relationship with her younger sister.

Of course, not as easy as conjuring a ball dress that would last for a few hours; but she just knew that after a long day of having a heart to heart with Giselle, they could reach the real problem and help her move on whatever she had going through her head.

Well, thank the stars that she didn't made any bets, or she would have lost her most prized possession.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she was cursing herself, as she walked with heavy steps through the hallways of the dorm rooms. As soon as she had approached Giselle, she had let the magical barrier drop. The blue haired fairy had hugged her friend for a grand total of 5 seconds, when she was shoved off. When her brain reconnected itself out of the shock; Giselle was long gone.

'Oh, Giselle should totally go and auction for the next school play' Earie mentally parroted with false cheer ' If she uses her acting skills on stage as she did with me, she'll get the leading role! Well, that is if I don't curse her into an otter' she finished with a vicious mental snarl. And why an otter? Because why not, that's why.

That's how mad Earie was right now.

She had gotten cocky; so sure of herself and lowered her guard, when she should have known better, for star's sake!

Her previous statement of this being a long day, so far was proving to be true. But if Earie Fairy was one thing, that was stubborn! She would get to the bottom of this and fix it, or so help the soul who earned her wrath!

Time to hunt for a Darling, it seemed...

**~o°°o~**

Epic. Fairy. Fail.

Maddie had jumped up from her seat, her chair falling with a clank on the ground, but she was two seconds too slow to stop Saffron from bolting out. With an almighty kick, she pushed it away from her and made to move to the door after Saffron.

But Raven threw herself across the table and took hold of her arm.

"Maddie NO!" Raven yelled at her, looking frightened and frantic. Her hold on her forearm tightening.

'So biased...' she was thinking sadly, looking at Raven with disappointment. Raven flinched a bit at that, but her hold didn't waver in the least. From the corner of her eye, Madeline Hatter could perceive Jackie frozen in shock.

'It is to be expected' Maddie thought, looking to this… madness (the irony of her words of choice was not lost on her), though perhaps calling it insanity or foolishness stupidity would be more apt. And she was not just talking of present time events! Her aqua eyes surveyed the only patrons in the shop. Thanks for small mercies, they were alone at this time of the day.

And her eyes were not the only ones sweeping them, but Jackie's as well. Still pressing themselves against the wall: Poppy, and Ashlynn clutching each others hands in fright and breathing heavily, Cerise right next to them looking pale with her hand covering her mouth and Raven draped onto the table holding tight onto Maddie, the cups and plates strew every way and the tea dripping onto the floor.

Maddie could feel (just as she could feel it was tea time or how to move her hand inside her hat to pull out a teacup) the tension, the fear and most of all, the rage. At this point in the succession of events, she wouldn't even be able to tell if the rage was hers or Jackie's. And she mentally counted down '10... 9... 8...'

"What just happened?" Jaqueline murmured, slowly coming back.

'7... 6... 5... 4...'

"She... you..." Mumbling incoherently, the soft whisper of Jackie was the only thing that Maddie could hear, not even the clock dared to tick.

'3... 2... 1...'

"I... I should..." breath in, breath out "I should just lock you all in Davy Jones' locker and throw the key, ya bunch of scallywags!" Jackie stood up of the chair, visibly trembling with rage, her hands tightened into fist around the edge of the table. If looks could kill, some said. But her eyes weren't full of consuming rage, but a deep cold of deception that somehow, in Maddie's opinion, was much worse.

"The fear is just too great, it blinds them Jackie" she twisted her arm a bit, the one not currently being strangled by Raven, and lightly touched her elbow.

"Fear?" Poppy's laugh had a tad too much of hysteria "For Grimm sake, of course we are afraid"

"That was THE Candy Witch" one could hear the capital letters in Cerise's statement. Maddie wondered how one could determine that capital letters where involved. Oh, and on a side note, Cerise was positively growling.

'Well, someone is showing her wolf side a teeny weeny bit too much' thought Maddie, not amused in the least. "Pish posh!" She yelled instead, wiggling in vain her captive arm.

"She eats people for fairytales sake!" screamed Ashlynn.

"No, she doesn't!" screamed Jackie back "Don't you remember? She is vegetarian for Jolly Roger's sake!"

"Wait a spell..." Poppy extracted herself from the wall "You knew..." Her face broke from one of fear to another of utter betrayal. "You knew who she was!" Her fingers pointed accusingly towards Maddie and Jackie both, but all she could bring herself to do was blink in an owlish way. Jackie didn't even cringe a bit at the accusation.

"Why, yes. Yes, I did." Maddie twisted her arm a bit more to fully face Poppy and even Jackie couldn't help herself and look at the aqua eyed girl. Maddie simply felt a devilish wonderish smirk grow on her face, after that calm admission "Why else would I have send Jackie here" some more arm twisting and pompously pointing at the pirate girl "to save her from the Crumb cousins?"

"Save her..." Cerise repeated "Save her?!" And apparently her temper was still getting out of hand, if that touch of hysteria was anything to go by "The Candy Witch doesn't need saving, others need saving from her!"

"What do you know?" Jackie growled back at the hooded girl "Had any of you ever, oh, I don't know, even looked at her before?" Oh good, she was getting her guts back, it was about time! "You have been around her for two days" she drew her fingers for emphasis "Two hole, bloody days!"

"We didn't know" Raven told her "If we had..." She trailed off, knowing what she would have said, but afraid to do so in front of the very angry pirate. Too bad, because she know had Jackie's full attention.

"So that's what it takes" Jackie purred, looming closer to Raven "You lot only needed to know her mom's fairytale story" she looked at them with disgust and disappointment on her features "to know if you want to have anything to do with her" Ashlynn made the unfortunate move of nodding to that and Raven felt like a knife had been buried in her gut. Didn't that sound awfully familiar? Her grip on Maddie's arm relaxed somewhat.

'Her eyes feel like ice' Ashlynn decided 'when she looks at me like that' Jackie was taking a step closer to her, and a wave of panic enveloped her. How she wished Hunter was here!

"Even when she..." And she gave her that look once more, encompassing her, as well as Cerise and Poppy "has been nothing but kind? Was she ever rude, cruel, mean?"

"Even when she" here, she looked at Raven "has done nothing to help you control your cursed magic?" The knife buried inside Raven twisted painfully.

At least they had the decency to look away at that, ashamed. Saffron had been shy and maybe insecure, but nice and helpful to all of them in the short period of time they had known her.

Maddie looked at Raven, whom she knew so well, pleading her to understand, to connect the dots and truly see what was in front of her nose. And Raven instantly knew.

"She is like me..." It was said in a murmur, her purple eyes wide open; just as the memories drowned her until the first day back at Ever After High stood up above all others.

All that screaming and running, all to get away from her, for what the believed she would become.

Raven trembled, and let go completely of Maddie's arm. "She is like me..." She repeated louder this time

Cerise, Poppy and Ashlynn looked more confused than afraid now. 'Baby steps' Maddie reminded herself, as she massaged her arm to get flood flowing through it again.

"Finally, you get it" grumbled Jackie "Saffron doesn't want to follow her story, just like Raven here" she mockingly told them and pointed to the purple haired girl.

"But... but..." Ashlynn couldn't really believe her ears, even less form coherent speech. Poppy tried to do it for her "What... Why?" and wasn't as eloquent as her fellow princess. Cerise was mute in her surprise.

"To have eyes, but be so blind" Maddie crossed her arms and now it was her who looked at them, but where Jackie made them feel like they were freezing, Maddie's made them feel as if they were tiny "To yearn for freedom, but be destined to the noose, that's why"

Now they were subject to the look of both Maddie and Jackie. Brrrr.

"Do you even remember how Hansel and Gretel ends?!" Jackie pulled at her hair. Honestly!

Cerise was the first one whose eyes opened "Gretel... Gretel throws the witch into the oven... and the witch burns alive..." Both Jackie and Maddie nodded solemnly at that and Cerise plummeted into the floor.

"While you wallop in your well-earned miserable guilt" Maddie said as she adjusted her hat "We" she pointed towards Jackie "Are going after dear Saffron"

"Got to find her, and smartly!" growled Jackie, already directing her steps towards the door, right next to her.

And without even a glance to the others, they swiftly left the Mad Hatter's Tea Shop.

**~o°°o~**

"Well, that was dramatic and intense, but now how are we going to find Saffron?" Maddie asked Jackie, once they were a couple of blocks away from the tea shop.

Jackie didn't even stop to think it "You just follow me" was all the pirate girl said, as with purposeful strides, she began to guide her wonderlandian friend roughly in the same direction as the Multi-Hex theatre.

"Oh?" Maddie pondered, as she walked right next to her; both girls walking at brisk pace. Not walking, but neither running.

"It's just... something I do. You could call it my 'magic' touch if you like" she was more at ease now that they had left the other girls, though she would have to see what to do about them later "If I want to go somewhere or get something, I just know what direction to take and just... get there. Sort of like a compass that point me where it is what I want, instead of the north"

"Sounds terribly useful" was the simple comment Maddie made, looking at her sideways, never breaking pace.

"Most times" the brown haired girl conceded "But if I don't have any, let say, specifics... "

"You end up everywhere"

"Yeah, that's the gist of it"

"Well, lead on, Captain" Maddie said as she made a grand gesture towards the Multi-Hex theater.

"Aye, aye" She had to smirk a bit at that, even despite the ball of emotions weighting in her stomach her down. 'Shiver me timbers!' though Jackie, just remembering the scene she had walked on this Friday. 'If anyone is listening to I hope Saffron hasn't run into those two pests'

Sweet Jones, was it only just Saturday? It felt longer!

**~o°°o~**

Saffron finally stopped running, winded and short of breath. The tears kept falling from her eyes as she hugged herself, feeling miserable.

'I shouldn't have told them' she let herself fall on the ground, her back being supported by an oak tree as the sobs took hold of her small frame.

Saffron had admired Raven ever since she refused to sign the Story Book of Legends and in the chaos that followed, gave her more time before she signed her own. And that time grew, one day after another, until the days became weeks and in those weeks that passed by, the number or Rebels grew.

She had honestly no idea what to make of the world, since for the longest time all she had know was the death sentence hanging over her head and looming closer. Every moment of her life, had been on a countdown and now, the clock had stopped.

It hadn't affected Gus and Helga though, they still tortured her whenever possible and with impunity. If anything, they had upped up their "games" with her.

And oh how she wanted it to stop already.

She didn't want to die, but some days, it looked like her only escape from the torment that was her life. She didn't have friends of any kind, never had and never would. More often than not, people ran away as fast as they could just at the sight of her and usually screaming.

It had lead her towards a very lonely childhood, with only her grandfather Emmet for company.

Saffron loved and adored him with all of her heart, but even she could admit that Emmet Wicked wasn't the jolly sort. Then again, losing your wife and daughter on horrible circumstances one after the other and knowing your remaining granddaughter was to suffer the same fate... well...

It was such lonely life, that had attracted her towards books. And no other type had attracted her more than novels did. She had created a world for herself between every page and it had been how she had glimpsed at the outside world where everyone but her lived. She wanted that, the adventure, the romance, the friendship; everything she was denied.

Her lower lip trembled and more tears spilled from her eyes.

It had felt good, to be surrounded by others and just have fun. But then she opened her mouth and it all went to hell. Why couldn't she get out from the shadow of her cursed destiny?

" Saffron?!" Marissa's voice sounded agitated, and as the mint haired girl raised her head from her arms, the princess was suddenly there. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Marissa!"

"Don't go off like that!"

"Do you have any idea...!"

The look Marissa gave Marlon and Marston instantly shut them up, before they could even start to berate her. And probably the sight of the girl in tears helped too.

The triplets tried in vain to coax her to talk to them, but Saffron was unable to articulate speech, distressed as she was. And even if she could say anything, how could she even begin? They would run away too, just as soon as they knew she was the next Candy Witch.

It went to say a lot of their character, how neither Marlon, Marston nor Marissa desisted in their attempts to console her. And perhaps is spoke a lot of the influence Jackie was already having on the princess when, a bit exasperated and even more worried Marissa exclaimed:

"Just tell me who I have to punch in the face!"

Marlon and Marston could only look at their sister in shock, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

"Well" Jackie exclaimed from behind them, as she reached to close the boy's hanging jaws with an audible click "You'll just have to get in line behind us mate" behind her, Maddie cheerily waved at them.

"And you" Jackie pointed at Saffron, who looked at her like a deer caught in the highlights, her sobs paused "Oh thank Jones, you are alright" and without further ado, let her body fall onto her knees and reached for the petite girl to hug her.

"Silly, silly girl" Maddie giggled softly behind Jaqueline "It takes more than an ugly story you don't fit into to make true friends run away" Jackie let go of Saffron and simply nodded her head.

"Mind fill us on what's going on?" Marlon asked with a raised eyebrow. Jackie raised her own eyebrow at him and his duplicate.

"But of course!" Maddie took of her hat and reached inside it, pulling a table and chairs; complete with tea service from it. "Now, where should we start?" She pondered out loud, as she sat cool as a cucumber and poured tea on three cups at the same time.

Jackie looked at the sky as in a prayer. She like tea (like any good British) but it was beginning to be ridiculous the amounts of it she drank ever since she arrived at this school.

Marissa pulled herself of the ground and pulled an immobile Saffron with her towards the table, confused at the craziness of it all, but even more relieved that Saffron had stopped crying and looking miserable.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Marlon followed his sister, and after a glance towards Maddie's hat, Marston pulled himself straight and offered Jackie a hand to get up, which she took gratefully.

'Now where to begin?' Jackie thought tiredly as she allowed Marlon to pull her chair for her (which in normal circumstances, she would have never allowed him to do) under the raised in surprise eyebrow of Marissa. Maddie just then trusted a tea cup into her hand 'Gonna need something a tad stronger than tea... if this becomes routine' a chill on her back interrupted that thought 'Heck, if this becomes routine, I'm not leaving my bed! Well, I'll just probably take a day off this madness in between putting fires off' she conformed herself to simply sip her tea, stalling for time.

"So tell me, wild swans that you are" Maddie interrupted the silence that had descended on them "on which side of the coin toss will I find you?"

"What?" Marston asked the girl, even more confused.

"I..." Saffron mumbled "I think she is asking on which side you are."

"Which side we are?" Marissa repeated, clutching her tea cup more fiercely

"Royal or rebel" muttered Marlon, next to Jackie.

"Silly swan, that's what I asked!"

The sibling looked to each other, conflicted. They had never broached the subject, afraid of what they would say or what the other two would say.

"If you ask me..." Jackie said, as she leaned her head onto her fisted right hand, with a faraway look in her eyes "the whole Royal versus Rebel stuff is… " She let go of the air in her lungs "It simply comes down to this: are you 100% happy with your story, your part on it, how it ends and who (if that's the case) you end up with?" She closed her eyes, why did she had to go and open her mouth some days? "If the answer to all of them is yes, congrats, you are a Royal. But, if only one of those does not satisfy you, keeps you up at night and scares you... welcome to the rebels" She sipped at her tea and let it at that.

"Why yes, that is in essence what started it all" Maddie continued, twirling a tea spoon in the air "Raven has never had a mean cell in her body, much less an evil one. So, she refused to sign, even if it would mean she would disappear." Maddie stopped twirling the spoon, making it disappear inside her hat, along with any pastries she had put on display on the table "Better to die standing, than live forever on your knees"

Everyone else gulped at that. Really, Maddie being serious, while immediately grabbing your attention and keeping you on your spot, was not something that sited well with Jackie

"I get that" Marissa mumbled to herself, after getting to know the real girl today, after years of knowing about her by what others said she would become. A wave of guilt crashed through her at that, it had taken Jackie for her to open her eyes perhaps for the first time and make her own opinions.

Then another thought crossed her brain. Maddie is a well know Rebel (or at least supporter of them) and for her to asked about sides all of a sudden...

Marissa looked at Saffron and took her small hand in hers. No, she had known briefly this petite girl and no matter what, her prejudice would not win over her ability to judge someone ever again. She would give them a chance to know them and then form her opinions.

"It grew up from there, of course" Maddie continued as if nothing "And they decided to call us rebels, for rebelling against destinies laid at our feet. But back to the matter at hand" Maddie looked intensely at the Aster triplets "Where you to each take a side, which will it be?" No would, but will. The wording did not escaped notice of anyone. The tea was cooling down and laying forgotten.

A few tense moments passed in silence, until the sounds of footsteps coming from the woods broke it. Soon enough, they could see and hear Helga and Gus Crumb, walking towards them.

Saffron paled in her seat, clutching back Marissa's hand without her noticing.

"Why look at this cousin Gus" Helga said as she came closer "A tea party! And we weren't invited!" Helga pouted underneath her pink cherry lip gloss.

"Not to worry, cousin Helga. I'm sure there must be some sweets left they can share with us" Gus drew near the table; making Jackie, Marlon and Marston stand up. Jackie was looking at the cousins with a frown on her visage.

"I'm afraid you are late" Maddie also stood up and circled the table, until she was right in front of the obnoxious cousins. "The white rabbit has left, the clock strikes a new hour and you shall not find your amusement here"

"Shame" said Helga.

"Pity" concurred Gus.

"Well then..." Helga eyed Jackie "Then maybe you have seen someone we are looking for" she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, we are hunting down a certain witch"

"Witch...?" Marlon asked, side glancing at his brother. What were those two on now?

"What witch?" Asked Marston, suspicious. Those two were well known for being the Headmaster's pets. Nothing good ever came from associating with them.

"The kind of witch that lays sweet treats to lure you to your doom" answered Gus.

"It's our destiny after all, you know, to make sure that the Candy Witch doesn't come and eat you all" Helga finished with a daring look towards Jackie.

She was on like fairy song.

"Never!" her hands tightened in fists "You won't fucking lay a finger on her, ever again" Jackie nearly growled, advancing ahead of the others, towards Helga.

"Why, one would almost believe you are… protecting her"

Maddie slipped until she was level with our favorite pirate, discreetly taking hold of her left arm by the elbow "So maybe we…" she pointed with her gloved hand to them both "are doing exactly that. What of it?"

"My sweetness!" Helga put her hands on her face, in mock surprise. The Aster triplets didn't dare move in real surprise "Do you hear that, cousin of mine?"

"Aye, I heard quite alright. They protect a criminal of the worst kind" he pointed at the girls with a chubby finger "How dare you? Don't you know what Ginger Bread House does to poor fairy tales all around?"

Saffron slipped out to f her chair, pale as a ghost.

"Better be careful, or the next thing you'll know, she'll bake you in a pie" taunted Helga.

"That is so full of lies, it is a wonder you could ever find your way out" Maddie tightened her grip on Jackie's elbow. Things would get ugly before they got better.

"Well, it's her destiny" Gus added with a nonchalant shrug of shoulders "She is the next Candy Witch, after all. She might not eat you today, but tomorrow… tomorrow for sure"

"You fucking twerps" cursed Jackie "So… just this Friday, what was all that about?!" damn it all to the seven seas, she was losing her cool, but hex! She wanted to punch them already!

Marissa had slumped next to Saffron, who was quivering in the ground. And the princess had an awful feeling for whatever after was brewing in front of her eyes. Marston and Marlon had retreated to the side lines, just a couple of steps in front of their sister, in the face of this argument that none of them cold completely understand.

It was like they were missing a key piece of the puzzle. And as she looked at how Saffron was looking at the Crumb twins, something started to click into place.

"That?" Helga made a gesture as if it was chasing out a dot dust in the air "She only needed to be reminded of her place in the story"

"Yes, we were just helping her practice her destiny" Gus laughed alongside Helga.

"You..." Jackie was trembling with rage, and if not for Marston suddenly stepping in front of her and Maddie holding her arm, she would have thrown herself at the pink haired glutton brats "You were burning her, beating her!" She felt tears wanting to form on her eyes, but a quick swipe of her face with her free hand took care of that "You were tormenting her and enjoying it! You even filmed it, you filthy flea bags!"

Marissa covered her mouth in horror with both hands, looking at the bandages that peaked underneath Saffron's dress and immediately pulled her closer.

"Oh you feisty girl..." Muttered Maddie, letting go of Jackie's arm. And Jackie launched herself towards the Crumb cousins, who bolted out of there, neither wanting an encore of the beat up Jackie gave them when they first meet. In their haste, a mirror phone crashed to the ground.

Jacqueline simply stood, looking towards where the pink pair disappeared. Maddie approached and picked up the mirror phone. When both girls turned around, Marlon stepped in front of the other two girls instinctively, but relaxed his stance upon seeing their pensive faces. They all got closer to where Marissa and Saffron were sitting on the ground.

"What was that all about?" Both brothers asked at the same time.

"See it for yourselves" Maddie threw the mirror phone at the prince (Marston, I think, hard to tell with those two), unlocked and with a video recording playing. In it, a girl with brown hair in a long brown dress with white lining (reminiscent of a ginger bread house) with a hoodie shaped like a witches' hat was being pushed around until she tripped on some tree roots, and Gus pinned to the ground. The view got shaky, but the screams ran loud and clear in the orange light that could be appreciated. The perspective changed once more, and the brown dressed girl, cradled her arm against her chest, the long sleeve of her outfit torn and burnt, the flesh of her arm and angry red and Helga kicked her across the ribs.

Nauseated, the prince stopped the video and gripped the phone until his knuckles turned white.

Marissa hadn't seen the video, but just by hearing it, she could very well guess what it was all about. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Jackie unceremoniously let herself fall on Saffron's other side, putting and arm on the smaller girl's shoulders.

"That's why you asked us if we were royals or rebels, right?" She directed her question at Maddie, who was putting a blanket out of her hat.

"Yes" she said as she unfurled it where the table had been seconds before (when had she stored it, anyway?) and sat herself at it, patting the spot right next to her. Saffron sniffed a bit, but crawled the short distance, Jackie following suit, until Saffron was sandwiched between them and leaning on Maddie's shoulder.

"Thank you guys" Saffron still had a knot on her throat, but now for different reasons.

"No problem, friends forever" softly giggled Maddie.

"You ain't getting rid of me that easily, candy doll" said Jackie with half a smile.

Marissa could simply watch them astonished, the three girls had barely meet, but where so at ease in each other's company.

"Saffron... is that... is that why you were crying?" Marissa barely dared to speak "Did Gus and Helga hurt you again?" Well, that certainly made her brothers come out of their trance

"No, they hadn't hurt me since this Friday..." Marlon first instinct told him to grab his sister and run for it. Thankfully Marston punched him in the arm and brought him back to the real world. Even after he had seen what those two had done her, it was hard to conciliate the image of THE child eating Candy Witch with this soft spoken, nervous and spooked girl.

Marissa stood up and walked closer to the blanket the other girls were sharing "Good" she breathed in relieve at that. Just hearing the screams and pleas for mercy playing on the mirror phone were sure to give her nightmare for the rest of the month. "If they ever try again, I have six older brothers that I'll gladly get them to be after them" and she sat across from Saffron, with a small snort of amusement from the other two and a mock protest from Marston.

Saffron's eyes teared up a bit "You say that now... but... do you truly mean it?" Marissa looked at her confused, of course she did! Perk of being the only girl and the youngest.

"I'm... I'm a rebel Marissa" God, it felt good to say that aloud "That's why Gus and Helga had attacked me so much worse than what they usually do" the triplets listened to her with rapt attention "I don't want to suffer the same fate as my mother and my grandmother, and it's not even because I'm not evil, or I want to be or do something different, for me it's simply about... living" she took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling bold with Maddie and Jackie next to her. They had both come looking for her, and had now both called her a friend in different occasions, and the taste of it all was the sweetest thing ever "I don't think you get it, since you three most likely have the promise of a happily ever after, but some of us don't. I don't. The story of Hansel and Gretel is nothing but a death sentence I have since before I was born"

"You would be surprised..." Marlon told her, leaning on a nearby tree "Our story?" He pointed at himself and his brothers "is no walk through the park. Marissa here has it easy... with getting her kingdom early on and…"

"Easy?!" Marissa interrupted him, standing up "I have it easy?!"

"Wow! Yeah we are the ones that get turned into swans for six years, remember?" told her Marston.

A hysterical laugh escaped the princess, drawing concerned looks from the other girls "You get turned into swans, but I'm the one who has to break the curse, not being able to communicate in any way or form and gets kidnapped and raped by a king!" She screamed at them "I'm the one will be married against her will, I'm the one who will be truly trapped!" a sob escaped her "You think that being turned into a swan is bad? I would trade you in an instant, even if I get to keep a wing instead of an arm, I would!"

Maddie nudged Jackie, who calmly (as well as a bit shocked at the new info) approached the hysterical princess slowly. No rushed or sudden movements and gently took her by the shoulders and made her sit on her previous place in the blanket. Marissa was trembling and on the verge of openly sobbing, and clung to her, muttering about stolen children, unfair trials, stupid brothers who had it easy and more things, that she couldn't quite catch.

"Ok, Marissa... I don't care what your story is supposed to be, ok?" She told her gently, while awkwardly patting her back "You just come straight to get me if any guys wants to get fresh and I'll put him right in the trash, ok? I'll kick him right back, ok?" Marissa nodded while some tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh Mari..." Marlon stepped away from the tree, while Marston was already trying in vain to get Marissa out of Jackie's arms, and got a dirty look in exchange.

"I had had no idea..."

"We had no idea…" interrupted him Marlon.

"that you felt this way. Why didn't you tell us?"

Saffron was drawing soothing circles with her palms in Marissa's back, and along the other two girls, lifted an eyebrow in silent judgement.

"Truth be told, I don't want to follow the fairy tale, lil sis." confided Marston

"Nor do I. Six years is an awful long time" said Marlon, trying in vain to crack a smile out of Marissa.

At that, Marissa lifted her head from Jackie's shoulder and threw herself at her brothers, who simply hugged her something fierce. Nothing in this world made their sister cry, not even their supposed story.

"Gotta get some T-shirts" commented Maddie

"T-shirts?" Saffron asked her, cleaning her face from dried tears with a napkin, courtesy of our one and only tea crazy girl.

"Why yes, t-shirts" she nodded at that, as if that settled it. The triplets felt much calmer now.

"Whatever for Maddie?" Jackie asked her.

"Well, for the new rebels of course!" and she pointed to Saffron, Marissa, Marlon and Marston.

Marissa laughed hard at that, while Jackie dropped until she was laying down with a smile on her face, simply watching the colors in the sky change. "Sounds like a plan" she laughed a bit. Until she remembered the some of the other rebels.

"Still, we got a few sails to set straight" Jackie pushed herself off the ground, letting the weight of her body fall on her arms (and without intending to, giving the present male company a good view of her... ejem... assets)

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about those, they got set straight on their own" the wonderland girl answered her, as she started to pull out and give out tea and pastries "Oh Saffron, would you be a dear and help me with those? You know, that useful little thing you did yesterday when you started to help Raven"

A furtive glance at the present company, and with a small gesture of her hand, a sparkly mint green mist surrounded the food and multiplied it in a snap.

"Blimey, that's useful"

"Wow" Marston said as he poked a plate full to the brim with muffins and then took two "Oh my fairy godmother, I died and I'm in heaven" he stuffed his face some more, to the laughter of the girls and an eye roll of his twin.

"Oh for fairy sake, have some manners!" He said as he delicately stole a muffin from his double's hand and bit into it.

Then dove for the whole plate.

But Marston would not relinquish his hold on mount muffin. But Marlon wanted more muffins and declared war, when he managed to steal another one. Muffin war had begun.

While the brothers fought over one plate of muffins and the girls laughed at them, with embarrassed commentary from Marissa, a yell of triumph interrupted their antics. And let me tell you, those two looked adorable with their cheeks full and crumbs all over them.

The voice of Cerise reached them "Found them!"

"Oh my fairy godmother, I'm so sorry"

"Sugar cube!

"Saffron"

"Where the hex had you three been? We have been looking everywhere for you!"

Turns out, that shortly after they left them, the girls talked a bit and felt awful about how they had yelled at Saffron and had been looking for either one of them and apologize. Which they did immediately. As it had been wrong of them to judge her based on the part she was supposed to play (and after some talking, confirmed she did not want to). After that bit of drama was done and over, Maddie enthusiastically introduced them to the Aster siblings, their newest rebels.

Well, Maddie was right, those sails set themselves straight after all.

**~o°°o~**

While Cerise was running back to town to go pick up a few boxes of pizza (it had turned out it was already late evening and most of them felt drained and hungry) payed up by Raven, Poppy, Ashlynn and herself (whom still felt very, very guilty) for them all; Earie had been forced to stop her hunt, to get something to eat.

Luckily for her, she had chosen the same spot that Giselle had, a small bistro they both loved to come whenever they wanted to eat in the village.

"So…" she said, as she stood up in front of the table Giselle was currently occupying "Now can we talk?"

"What is there to talk about?" she asked back, while taking a sip of her latte.

"Giselle…"moaned Earie in exhaustion "please, just talk to me.. No running, no lies, no force fields, just talk as the best friends for ever after we are supposed to be, Giselle?"

Though Giselle looked at Earie with surprise, she slowly nodded her head and Earie took the seat from across her and ordered some food.

"Look" she began as the waitress left their table "I only want to understand what happened yesterday"

"I believe I made it clear enough" Giselle answered with a frown towards her salad, viciously attacking it with her fork.

"Oh believe me, it was clear that you have no lost love for Jackie" she paused and looked at her friend, whom quite honestly, looked miserable "what is not clear is why" Giselle snorted at that.

The waitress returned with Earie's food, and both girls lapsed into silence while they ate, but Earie was stubborn and as the waitress picked up the dishes, she continued where she left off.

"I only want to help you; you know? I nearly didn't recognize you yesterday, and it scared me, I thought that maybe I don't know you at all" she took a sip from her glass of water "And I want to understand what the hex is going on with you" Giselle avoided looking at the blue haired girl.

"It's just… hard" finally, Giselle was talking! "Norris has always tried to hide it from me, with Paige's help but…"

Earie knew whom Giselle was referring to; after all, it was hard to forget the dedicated and charming male nanny; Norris Nana, nor the kind and funny maid, Paige Liza, of the Darling family.

"But…" Earie prompted her friend.

"My parents are… well, they're… their marriage is… in shambles" Giselle truly disliked even admitting that aloud "And it's all because of her" her voice took an angry undertone "Ever since I was little, they fight and yell at each other all the time; they even slept in different bedrooms. You would not imagine some of the things my dad said about my mom. It's awful" she wiped her eyes "Not just for me, but the whole family. What my mom did goes against everything and ruined us. I had to grow up with my dad hating my mom for cheating on him and having her on top of it all!" she whipped her eyes again, never letting a tear fall "And since I'm at Ever After High, they don't even live together anymore! If my dad's home, my mom isn't. Do you have any idea what is like to have your parents always fighting?"

Earie did not dare to move or say a word, though she desperately wanted to do something. She had no idea that things where that bad on Giselle's home. Then again, even after learning about Jackie, she had not stop to think on the implications of her being the daughter of both the hero and villain of the fairy tale.

"That's why I wish she didn't exist. Then my family would be whole and happy"

"Oh Giselle…" Earie took her friends hand across the table "You know that's Jackie's fault… she did not ask to be born"

"That, maybe…" was all Giselle conceded, as she whipped her eyes again "But you don't know either what is like to feel… whenever she is around, mom devotes herself to be with her, do things with her and the way she looks at her… " Giselle sniffed, looking downwards at the table "She doesn't' spend time like that with me… she should be helping me and giving me advice on how to be the best "Wendy" I can be… it's not fair"

What could Earie say to that?

"Well, I'm sure your mom tries Giselle. It can't be easy with you two at each other's throats all the time in the house!" the blue haired fairy tried to joke.

"What are you talking about? Jacqueline does not live with us. At most, she spends a couple of weeks here and then. The rest of the time she is with her dad; I think…" wait a second

"That's it then" Earie said with a triumphant air, that she couldn't help "Your mom simply wants to spend some time with her, because she rarely see's her"

"And the rest of the time, she ignores me just because?" drawled Giselle

"If that's your attitude…" she joked, bad time and bad place, judging by Giselle's turn down face "But seriously though… hey!" she shoved the other girls shoulder "Or maybe she doesn't know how to approach you, after all the she has put you trough. Try to talk to her, get her side of things"

"You think that could be it?"

"We can try" Earie smiled at last, seeing her beloved friend peeking through this grouchy girl that had suddenly taken her place "How about this: you call her later tonight and I'll be right there with you to help you out?"

Giselle thought about it for a moment, it certainly couldn't hurt (at least any more) to try to talk with her mother. And even if everything went down the drain, she would have Earie's support; now that the fairy knew about her troubles "Ok"

"Ok" repeated Earie, and hugged her friend 'Baby steps…' she reminded herself 'Baby steps…'

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**New chapter! And hopefully not in code! Again! For, like, the fifth time! I honestly have no idea what happened there, I've been publishing and taking down this chapter all week long!**

**Still, I took advantage and fixed little grammar and spelling errors in all chapters and even made this one even longer than it was supposed to.**

**In other good news, I'm done with this Saturday! We now have more rebels (and truly, if you know the Six Swans fairy tale, you wouldn't be surprised at that). Earie finally caught up with Giselle and made headway on helping her side of the Darling-Hook siblings. Now I can move back to making more chaos for Apple!**

**Just to clarify, the cannon Ginger Bread House is not the same as the one I'm referring to. Mine is older and certainly does not have pink hair, thank you very much. And since more characters keep coming up from the canon, it might happen again in the future. You have been warned.**

**I know I have been updating the chapters at a snail's pace, but rest assured, I'm not abandoning this story. It's just… well, have you ever read from a ff writer that real life got chaotic and in the way? Yeah, it has a tendency to do that and let me tell you, real life sucks! I also got a tad distracted with "Yellowing pages", which basically started as a read though the diary of Giselle's and Jackie's mom, as a way for me to go deeper inside my character's backgrounds. Just to be clear, it's just a bunch of notes so far, not yet ff material, but who knows? Maybe one day it will, but in the meantime…**

**Gonna rant for a bit, feel free to skip these few lines:**

**My work sucks, but on the bright side, that harpy that I had for a boss quit and I throw a mental party every time I remember how she left in a temper tantrum more worthy of a four-year-old child that a twenty-eight-year-old woman, but I suppose that's just how she is.**

**Speaking of my job, I'm laughing/despairing at how many people will be leaving that place (myself included) from here to June. A former crush of mine included… sigh…**

**I've been also busy looking and arranging stuff to go for my master's degree in Mechanical engineering, back on my dear old good SLP and away from Mexico's city with which I have a love/hate relationship.**

**This city is great to visit, but to live in it... I wanna get out.**

**So wish me good luck, 'cuz in June I'm quitting my job (big gulp!) and into the introductory course and they won't tell me if I'm in or not until late August (double big gulp!) and then who knows if I'll get the scholarship I need/want to pursue this.**

** I find myself begging for June to come around... and for June to never come. Oh well...**

**Thanks for the reviews, Ace, somebody to everyone, The Lady Geek (that's how she came to exist) and Guest.**

**As usual and again, thanks to all of you who have left a review, no matter how small. And once more… PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**I own nothing but those character from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**

**Kimera225**


	9. Chapter 9 Changes and plots beginning

**Rocking the Boat**

**By Kimera225**

**Chapter 9**** – ****Changes and plots beginning to brew**

On the male side of the dormitories at Ever After High, Hopper Croackington the Second was glancing at a piece of paper.

Just yesterday, after leaving the Mad Hatter's Tea Shop, he had turned back on his steps towards Briar's party supplies explosion. Upon arriving, however, he discovered that the princess of his dreams had already enlisted the help several other princes and commoners, all of whom were clearly receiving more attention than he had ever received while doing the same task all by himself.

And curses, it hurt!

He had hidden himself behind the menu of a small bistro, with a rounded fountain in between himself and the girl who had his affections. Not that Briar would even notice him, seeing as she was with her back towards him and pushing herself way to close to be proper against Amir Ali, the next Aladdin. And oh, look! Now she was doing the same thing with another boy, and another, and another.

He felt like someone suddenly decided to tap dance on top of his heart with shoes resembling a nail bed (pointy side down). If Hopper had been in his frog form, he would have probably put it in a more romantic/dramatic way, but this one sufficed.

Later that night, that and Saffron's words led him into some very deep thinking.

Thankfully, Daring was... occupied elsewhere. If he were to guess, he would probably bet that he was on a Saturday date with some random girl – partly to feed his already gigantic ego and partly looking to make Apple jealous – again.

Was he that obvious that a complete stranger - a really nice one who was now his friend, but they had still barely meet – could tell?

_"It's fairly obvious that you like her" _

He knew that the whole school knew about his crush on Briar. Hex! He had even enlisted Cupid's help shortly after she arrived at Ever After High.

_"It's fairly obvious that this isn't the first time you run to do as she says"_

He couldn't stop the wave of shame that coursed through him, again, because it was true.

It was as if all Briar had to do was say "Jump" and he would ask back "How high?"

And even if just to himself, he could admit that such was... not right. Even pushing back how unbecoming was for him to run to do Briar's bidding as a prince, it did not bode well for the sort of relationship he wanted to pursue with her. Perhaps it was worse how much Briar had taken advantage of that.

All he had to do, was remember the preparations for the "True Hearts Day" secret party. He had been nervous as a beanstalk was high. Not only that, but when he had pointed out the risks of failure and being discovered with having the party supplies delivered at school, Briar had shushed him and gone along with her plan. And it had been a near thing!

Again, it did not bode well for the sort of relationship he wanted to pursue with her... or anyone else.

His ideal of a relationship was – and he wasn't ashamed to admit – exactly like those of his parents.

They had both been friends before and after they married and where an unstoppable team in every area you could think of: the management of the kingdom, politics, raising him... you name it and they tackled it; complementing each other in the areas where one excelled at but the other might struggle a bit. They laughed, joked, cried and confided with each other, even when they disagreed. And they were so in love, even after so many years.

_"But what it isn't fairly obvious is what you see in her"_

What did he see in Briar? Besides from the physical aspect, of course. Not to mention, that when Saffron asked him, he had been unable to give her an answer.

He liked her... how could he call it? He liked her free spirit, how she was always in for a "rush". She was also kind.

But was she kind towards him? Not by a long shot.

It was disheartening to realize that maybe he had idealized Briar. Even worse to try to see things from another angle and see how wrong the interactions between them played out. And when compared with his ideal of a relationship...

He had left it at that, opting instead to go to bed early.

Sunday morning came way too soon for him and here he was now. He felt like he needed to talk to someone about it, and his mind had jumped immediately towards his new friend. But how could she help him, anyway?

To add insult to injury, Daring choose that moment to make his presence known. Couldn't his doorm mate taken just a tiny bit longer when he was checking his appearence in the mirror, like usual?

"My, my... what is this?" And just like that, Daring slipped the paper from Hopper's hands "A girl's mirror phone number, perhaps?" He added in a teasing tone.

Great... just great. 'To early to deal with his teasing...' the frog prince though annoyed.

"What of it?" Was the grumpy reply, fully knowing that until Daring got tired of teasing him, he would keep the slip of paper.

Daring actually stopped and looked back at his roommate. Never after had the other prince talked back at him like that AND that was an affirmative answer! Who knew that Hopper had it in him?

"My good man!" He slapped the red headed boy's back "Good for you!"

'Wait... what? Daring actually congratulated me' an eyebrow rose in Hopper's brow "Thanks...?"

"So, do tell! Who is this maiden?" He flashed his teeth, making Hopper wince as the bright light attacked his eyes.

"Just a girl I meet yesterday... I think she is new at the school" without meaning to, Hopper found himself talking about the previous day with the player prince, whom rarely interrupted. To Daring's utter fascination, all the while Hopper did it with a small smile on his lips. "Her name is Saffron and I had just..."

Well, Daring did not interrupt until he got to the bit where he transformed before they left the coffee shop and just before he left her at the tea shop.

"So... she kissed you" the blonde stated with a smirk on both his face and tone and Hopper went red to the roots of his hair.

"Not like that!" his right hand went to cover his mouth, as if that alone could cover him and the fact that Saffron had kissed him on the lips. In his frog form, of course.

"Oh?" red alert, Daring had a playful tone that spelled trouble for him "Then how?"

Hopper frowned at the implications that Daring seemed to bring up "As in I was green..."

"Oh..." One could wonder at how much disappointment could fit in that expression.

"Yeah..."

"Well then, there's always next time!" Daring could admit to being all about himself, but clearly there was something here! And if he was any judge, going by how red Hopper was looking right now...

"Daring!" Okay, perhaps the red tinge was more due to anger than embarrassment right now.

"What? Don't you like her?"

"As friends!"

"Shame..." A wicked idea began to form in his mind "You should introduce us then!"

"What? No!" Now Hopper was suspicious of Daring. God knew what was going through that blonde head of his.

"Come on! If you are not going to show her a good time" he smiled for added effect "I certainly can" he finished in his most charming voice.

Hopper crossed his arms, his face now back to it's usual pale color "Not going to happen" he furrowed his eyebrows "You'll only play with her feelings" he added as clarification, feeling protective of Saffron, she was too... innocent for him to allow to Daring play with her, as he did with countless other girls of every station.

"How dare you?" For Daring, that was an affront to his reputation of Charming prince. It was true, but an affront nonetheless.

With an exasperated roll of his eyes and a huff that would have made Mr. Bad Wolf proud "You leave a trail of broken hearts wherever you go Daring. You pick a girl by the week, string her up and then leave her in the dust for the next one in line (nothing was ever official, of course) without so much as a wave back. I'm not going to let you do the same to her."

Daring winced at that, for it was true. But in his mind, he was doing the girl a service by letting them have a week with him, before his destiny snatched him for the happily ever after at the end of the story. "Then date her yourself!"

"No!"

"Why ever not?" Honestly, he couldn't understand Hopper!

"You know why not."

Of course Daring knew, hex the whole school knew of his friends legendary crush on Briar. He truly despaired for the frog prince, he truly did. They belonged in different stories and that meant that it just couldn't be. Then Daring's thoughts went towards a certain girl from Wonderland and kept his lips shut and prepared himself to tune out Hopper's monologue on how much in love he was with Briar, when...

"Because I'm... I'm..."

Hopper hesitated and the monologue never came. It was a first.

"Hopper?" The only response Daring got was a muffled scream "Man, what's up with you?"

Hopper flopped down on his bed and covered his face with a pillow "Briar..."

'For Grimm's sake...' thought Daring with copious amounts of exasperation.

"Daring... how do you do to... stop feeling for someone?" Hopper had removed the pillow from his face, looking at the ceiling with a determined expression on his face. "I... want to get over my crush on Briar"

That Sunday morning, Hopper achieved something no one ever after had before: he had left Daring Charming speechless.

Could someone please check if the sky was falling down and pigs were flying out there? Thank you.

**~o°°o~**

'Sunday... blissfully blessed Sunday' thought groggily Jackie as she snuggled deeper into her bed, in that blissfully half awake, half asleep state. Marissa had already gotten up and was currently using the showers, providing the perfect background noise to lull the blue eyed girl back to sleep for a few more minutes. If she wasn't stretching like a cat already, that is.

'No classes, no homework' hers had already been done and over for ages (so yeah, she had her mom's work ethic on that, sue her) 'No banshee nor fake blonde to spoil the day' Only God knew what those two were doing to occupy themselves and as long as it took them far away from her and her friends, it was no skin off her nose 'No glouton twerps' at least for today, she would be dealing with those two pests soon (maybe she could use the mirror phone Maddie had *cough* recovered from the ground when they ran away?) 'And no fucking guitar solos!'

Ok, that last one, certainly managed to ruin her good mood for about 1.5 seconds, because the last thing she needed to top off her weekend (and damn, it felt longer than it actually was) was for Sparrow Hood to blow off her ears with either his guitar or his voice.

Volume moderation, dude!

Jackie stretched some more, distracting herself with a mental picture of hitting Sparrow with his guitar if he ever came near her eardrums (he had meet him in heroics, and boy, she wasn't impressed).

"Sleep well?" Marissa asked as she returned from the adjoint bathroom they shared.

"Pretty damn well" Jackie replied as she stretched some more, in what probably was a funny way, if Marissa's giggles were anything to go by "Do you have plans for today?" She asked the princess, who was towel drying locks of hair, in front of the vanity.

"Ummm..." Marissa hummed "I'm going to be with Marlon and Marston. You know, after the coming out of the rebel closet..." Jackie choked on her own spit at the joke (before yesterday, who would have guessed what a spitfire this particular princess actually was?) "I feel like we need to talk, well, more like talk more about it. It's great that I was finally able to tell them about it" she turned to face Jackie " and I love that they just accepted that I don't want to follow the story, but I'm worried about them and what's going to happen with our older brothers. They have already signed the Story Book of Legends! So, what if they get turned into swans, and since I haven't signed, they get stuck like that? Or even if I don't sign, Marlon and Marston get turned into swans too! And it's not that I don't want to save them if they get cursed, but what if I can't because I don't sign? Or even if I don't sign and nothing happens and they don't get a happily ever after, they'll hate me for sure! And then, what if this King..." The Auburn haired princess was talking at a mile per minute, something that happened only when she was distressed. And judging by how tight she was twisting the discarded towel in her lap... anxious as well.

"Woah! Slow down!" Jackie jumped out of bed, her legs getting tangled in the bed sheets and making her trip "I totally get where are you coming from" she gently pried Marissa's hands from the poor towel (damn, she had grip like a Kraken on a sunken ship!). "So, yeah, talk. Talking is good, is even better when you don't induce yourself into a anxiety attack"

Thank Jones, Marissa laughed at that.

"Sorry, that wasn't very becoming of a princess, was it?"

"For the love of...! Forget about royal decorum, it's not that!"

Giggles "I know. Thanks Jackie"

"No problem"

"And what are you doing? I mean, I know the other girls are treating Saffron at the Tower hair salon, and it's not that I don't want to join them, but... my brothers... you understand right? "

"Totally" not really.

Maybe she could hang out with Hunter? At least while her female friends where pampering Saffron (cofguiltcof). She knew she wasn't going to step foot on Poppy's territory, least the rebel princess gets any ideas on torture (3 hours to make a hairstyle, for real?!). She would phone the guy after getting herself ready to face the day.

With the conversation effectively ended, Jackie dragged herself to take a shower with a half formed idea of what to do and Marissa got the finals touches on herself and left the room with a half formed idea of how to explain to her four older brothers (plus, their parents) that she was not going to follow the fairy tale ahead of her.

**~o°°o~**

The rest of the Sunday passed in relative calmness for the Rebels; Maddie had taken that day to hang out with the other Woonderlandians playing croket. Raven and Cerise had dragged Saffron towards the Tower Hair saloon where they meet with Poppy and Ashlynn to pamper her and hang out in the morning; afterwards splitting out: Ashlynn onto a date with Hunter, Cerise took off to meet with Cedar and Cupid, Poppy ended her shift and went to try and patch things up with her younger twin, leaving Raven and Saffron deeply involved in the quirks behind magic (the brown and mint haired girl truly had a heart of gold, in Raven's opinion). Jackie had hanged out with Hunter until midday, when he was off for his date with Ashlynn and for her great frustration, she did have a chance encounter with Sparrow; whom she couldn't help but to bring down a peg or twelve when she pointed out that he couldn't be the handsomest, rockiest, coolest and whatever else he deluded himself to be of the school, or else he wouldn't need to point it out in such an obnoxious way. That shut him up alright and in between playing his guitar, began to poke at her in what could only be called a verbal spar. They both discovered that the other wasn't half bad, after spending the rest of the day talking about everything and anything.

On the Royal side of things, Apple Blondie and Briar got together for some Hoccus Lattes in the early afternoon; each of the girls engrossed on their own problems: Apple with getting Raven to sign the storybook of legends, Briar with her next party and getting more party supplies since a few she had already bought got damaged when she crashed into Hopper and that annoying girl he was with and Blondie was despairing over the lack of views on her mirror cast show.

**~o°°o~**

And so it was, that the weekend came to an end and Monday morning arrived with routine setting in; some students were rushing before breakfast to copy the friend of a friend's Crownculus homework, princess sang as they went through their morning rituals to be fairest for the day, while a selected few – cough Jackie cough- cursed to the winds the early awakening and a purple haired sorceress escaped swiftly her dorm.

It would have been another Monday of the school year, with little to take notice off, if only Raven Queen hadn't taken the seat right next to the Candy Witch in History of Evil Spells. Not even Babba Yaga could help but to raise an eyebrow at that unusual behavior from the next evil queen, whom usually avoided her evil classmates. And how much evil could you go (after the Evil Queen of course) but the Candy Witch? Babba Yaga withheld a sigh of relief, not yet daring to hope that Raven would finally embrace her destiny.

Good for her, for if only she had known that Saffron was a fellow Rebel, who knows what the shock would have done to her. She was getting on years, after all!

"Saffron?" Raven was super nervous about doing this, but if she had to suffer a two-hour class on evil, at least she could team back with the only other student she knew for sure (could there be more?) that didn't want to be evil, like her.

"Raven?!" beneath the ginger brown hood on the shape of a witches' hat, Saffron's eyes where opened to the size of plates.

"Mind if I sit here?" At Saffron's frenetic nod, Raven took the sit next to her at the back of the class "I thought, that... well... if I have to suffer a lecture on being evil... and you have to go though it too... maybe we could, you know, keep each other company" she gave the other girl a tiny smile.

"That sounds spell binding" Saffron said with a returning smile of her own.

Class moved forward faster than either Saffron or Raven could ever had hope to (they both dreaded their evil classes) while doodling and writing on each other's notebooks. Neither girl was interrupting class or caused any sort of mischief nor trouble like their classmates; but at certain points during the lectures, Babba Yaga could only hear some faint giggles coming from the back of the room.

Having friends is great, don't you think?

Despite the oddity, the day went on and after the last class, both "evil" girls walked together to one of the study halls, where Raven had made arrangements to meet up with some others. That is, other Rebels.

"Hi everyone!" greeted Raven to those already assembled.

"Hello" Saffron greeted them as well, just more shyly.

"Sugar cube!" Ashlynn raised her head from her book at the sound of her voice, Hunter right next to her "Oh. My. Grimm. What the hex are you wearing?"

"So… she's the new rebel?" Hunter asked to no one in particular, while Poppy only stared in shock at her friend's… new outfit.

"My... witch clothes, I suppose..." Saffron answered Ashlynn with a grimace of distaste, looking at the tube skirt that looked like it had icing on the edges.

"That shade of brown is so not your color" Poppy couldn't help but to add, looking at the hood like it had personally offended her.

"My, you look like a fish trying to fly…" added Maddie "It doesn't suit you" she added as she took out her supplies to begin to work on her homework.

"I know… but I have to look like the next Candy Witch. Headmaster's orders." Everyone in the room eyed her with sympathy at that. Headmaster Milton Grimm could be such a…!

"Seriously?" Jackie's voice sounded behind Raven and Saffron, she was in the company of the Aster triplets.

Saffron nodded as she went to sit next to Ashlynn, whom was only too happy to introduce her newest friend to her boyfriend.

Jokes and gossip where exchanged while they all worked though their respective assignments, helping each other and what not. Meanwhile, Poppy couldn't shake a nagging feeling on the back on her head ever since she heard the reason for Saffron's "witchy" get up. Maddie had been spot on with making her look like a fish out of water. 'Come on brain!'

It was nearly when she was arriving in time for her shift at the Tower Hair Saloon when it finally came to her: the rule book! Jackie had mentioned that she had consulted the school's rule book about rules regarding how to dress (that was how she got away with using trousers, after all). A quick text message to her friends between haircuts later and she got a text back.

She had been right.

Raven wrote her back explaining that Grimm had no authority to order any student on how to dress, as long as some decorum was followed, of course.

Poppy grinned a little to evilly, sending Marissa Aster a new text and then another to Ashlynn, followed by Saffron. No one messed with style in front of her. No one!

And hopefully, Grimm would learn no to mess with the rebel princess.

One can only hope.

Ha!

**~o°°o~~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~o°°o~**

**Hello again! I'm back!**

**I know, I write at a snail's pace… but REAL LIFE GOT IN THE WAY; I SWEAR!**

**June came and June went and I had been running around ever since the end of May with me quitting my job (HUZZA! I'm soooo happy, even if my bank account isn't) and moving back to my home town (everything feels slow in comparison here) not to mention that I even had to tweak, shift and put back together my plans: I was originally going for a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering but I was never going to get accepted in the program since my Bachelor's degree is in Industrial Design (an old classmate tried the same and got booted for that, they are snob as hell is hot). So, a couple panic and anxiety attacks latter, checked my other options and fortunately, I was in time to apply instead to a Master's degree in Environmental Sciences. I recently received the official acceptance letter! I'm in! **

**So, I have been kept busy with all the paperwork and stuff related to me entry to the program. And maybe trying to go on with my so far inexistent love life… I reconnected though Tinder with this awesomely attractive Argentinian guy whom I knew from junior high (and might have had a slight crush back then) but ended crushed… So yeah, got inspiration to write and then off it went in less than a week.**

**But back to the story… We have rarely seen the relation between Daring and Hopper, so I like to explore that for a bit, but more importantly, I wanted to explore Hopper's character. I can only hope I did justice to the guy, he is one the sweetest male characters and it really maddens me how Briar takes him for granted in a puppy sort of way. On the other hand, we only know he likes Briar due to her external beauty and I want to make him go deep, ergo the beginning scene.**

**This is one of my shortest chapters, but seriously, I needed to cut with Poppy. My mind is brewing all sort of madness and trouble at Poppy's hands. I's so proud of her, they grow so fast!**

**And hey! This story has 33 reviews, 40 favorites and 29 followers! WOW! THANKS A BUNCH! I have this Cheshire grin whenever I see those numbers.**

**As usual and again, thanks to all of you who have left a review, no matter how small. And once more… PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**I own nothing but those character from EAH that you don't recognize and I do this just for fun.**

**Kimera225**


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